


Legacy

by tadanomarz



Series: Legacy [1]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Fate/Grand Order, Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Crossover, Dimension Travel, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gen Work, Platonic Relationships, Slice of Life, Swearing, around the chuunin exams def, changed minor things in fgo's plot to let this work, fgo wise it'll be pre part 2 n lostbelts, kinda crosses into boruto territory? but not entirely? yeah, mostly?? in relation to Sasori and Ritsuka, other then that i'll add more tags w/ additional updates, spoilers for fgo n naruto also
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 59,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22947865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tadanomarz/pseuds/tadanomarz
Summary: “Why chose me?” Sasori grumbled after a few minutes. “I’m no hero.”“You were still an important figure who caused major events,” Merlin counters with a shrug, his eyes crinkle with a sparkle of amusement.“...And I don’t know why you were chosen either, I just knew I had to come pick you up.”–In which, Sasori after his death is brought to another world to save humanity and later prevent his legacy from being destroyed.
Relationships: Sasori (Naruto) & Fujimaru Ritsuka
Series: Legacy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661731
Comments: 54
Kudos: 100
Collections: Time Travel and World Travel





	1. Mage of Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasori is invited to help save the world, but instead he contemplates on it instead, sitting on the sidelines.
> 
> Merlin is an annoyance.

Sasori thought after coming to terms with everything, his soul could move onto the afterlife– see his parents and perhaps the old hag. He left his legacy to Kankarou, who promised to ensure that his art would be eternal– where his art could be shared with the future generations. 

Instead, he’s met with a mouthful of dirt.

Groaning, he doesn’t open up his eyes immediately, and shifts his body upward. An intense aroma of flowers invades his nostrils, it makes him want to gag. He spits out dirt that’s mixed with petals and stems, lazily opening up his eyes, but they go wide.

The sight is breathtaking– filled with an annoying amount of saturated color. As he gathers his bearings, he takes in the sight of a vast field of flowers, the large blue sky covered in stratus clouds and the distant silhouettes of mountains near the horizon. A warm breeze rolls around him, bringing along a scent of home almost lulling him to sleep; it feels like a dream. 

In the middle of the flower field, a tower stands high above the clouds.

Sasori cannot help but grimace with disdain, eyes narrowing after feeling a change in the air. He whips around, watching as a breeze lifts the petals littered about the air into a whirlpool, where they dance about. More petals get caught up in the whirlpool, spinning wildly. He braces himself, hand already at his belt where his scrolls should be. But he touches nothing but air– _right_ , legacy with Kankarou, he nearly forgot. 

“Ah _ha_! You’re right on time!” A cheery disembodied voice greets him, its friendly and airy, akin to a pleasant breeze.

Sasori wants to gag, but remains wary when the whirlpool of petals falls to the ground, replaced by a person who bleeds into existence. The figure is covered in a white cloak, and holds a large staff between the fingers of his left hand. Flowers grow at his feet, blooming and withering simultaneously.

His first thought this could be a genjutsu– but how could it be, when he’s already dead? Dead twice– once by his grandmother and that brat of the Slug Princess, the next by Kankarou, who captured him. 

“You were expecting me,” Sasori deadpans, brows furrow downward, how suspicious. “Who are you?”

The hooded man smiles, lifts his cowl, revealing a young face and a carefree expression. Sasori blinks, maintaining a neutral expression. _He’d make a nice puppet,_ Sasori thinks then pushes it to the back of his mind. 

“My name is Merlin, O Great Puppeteer,” Merlin puts on an air of royalty and elegance, giving him a half bow. It’s grating. Sasori can’t help but think this guy is trying to mock him. “I dreamt of you once upon a dream.”

“Sure you did, I’m sure it was mundane,” Sasori responds dryly, he crosses his arms. “If you foresaw me arriving here, I’d like an explanation.” 

“An explanation? Well, I _suppose_ I could–”

“I don’t like waiting.” Sasori replies brusquely, oozing with killing intent. “or I’ll kill you.”

Merlin chuckles, offering him an impish grin. “You can try, but it’s not like you have any weapons on you.”

Sasori snorts, his arms fall at his sides; his mask of indifference broken, morphing in annoyance. He watches the mage gesture for him to follow through the field of flowers. He obliges begrudgingly, because it wasn’t like there was anyone else here.

Looks are deceiving, because the farther they wade through the field, the more distant the tower becomes. The tower reminds him of the desert mirages back in Sunakagure, where the smothering heat would take advantage of foolish travelers’ senses as they clawed into the illusion of an oasis. 

Sasori numbly wonders if the tower looming over them is an illusion. Either that or some kind of spell has been cast over him, betraying his already honed senses. Lazily the puppeteer takes in the view of Merlin’s back, watching the sway of his gait, how his hair almost looks iridescent and takes note of how light his footsteps are. It’s almost like he’s a ghost, just an impression placed on where ever the hell he is. 

“If I’m to explain further to you, we’ll have to be closer to the tower, where my real body is.” Merlin explains with nonchalance; he can feel Sasori’s eyes boring into his head. “But the reason why you’re here is quite simple: you’ll be required again.”

“For what? World Domination?” Sasori snorts, rolling his eyes. “Been there, done that, I do not care about the affairs of the world.” 

“So cold! Don’t you want your legacy to continue?” Merlin asks glumly, it almost sounds like he cares. 

Sasori inhales sharply, he feels his chest tighten– which feels human. His guide seemed pleased by his reaction, and let out a low hum. Deciding to ignore him, Sasori focuses on himself now. He never had a chance to intake his form upon his arrival, so presses his fingers together, feels his face, and digs a fingernail into flesh. His nerves react with the pressure, which helps confirm something for him. It meant his soul was freed from the wooden prison he confined himself to once upon a time. For a split second he watches his form waver, for a second looking see through– which meant he was still a spirit.

“Well, you’ll have to wait for that explanation! Come on, we’re almost there.” Merlin chirps with a grin in his voice, hurrying his pace.

For the rest of their trek, Sasori accompanies the mage wordlessly. He watches the silhouette of the tower in the distance, fogged by the atmospheric pressure and giddily wonders when they’ll arrive.

* * *

It feels like a millennium when they finally reach the base of the Tower. This place– Avalon, Merlin told him, is a utopia, where the land of the dead roam. It is also Merlin’s prison, that he foolishly got himself locked into. He rambled on about other things that went over Sasori’s head, but he mentally noted about Merlin’s land and his king.

Morning shifts into night, and the weather drastically changes too. It reminds him of Konohagakure’s weather: the day teetering from the freshness of spring to the beginning of summer, it felt just right. While the night sent a chill through his soul, but did not freeze him entirely, where the lingering warm breezes lightly dusted itself against his neck and cheeks. It is fortunate the terrain isn’t akin to Sunagakure, because he dreads having to wade through such drastic temperatures.

When Merlin turns back to him, he grins.

“You cannot go into the tower, if you do, you may be trapped.” Merlin repeated his previous warning. 

“Right, right, if I’m not innocent enough, I’ll be held prisoner.” Sasori responds flatly. “How are we going to meet with you real body?”

Merlin grins and waves about his staff, and Sasori can feel the magic flow and ebb around him. It’s different from chakra, more akin to Nature energy. With it, one could become a Sage, something that Orochimaru failed to obtain. He feels it crackle and swirl about, tickling at his skin. More of it gravitates to him and he’s soon cloaked in it from head to toe. 

There is a tug, and another which causes him to frown. The strange energy spreads across his body and it’s like his soul tears apart. He lurches forward and groans, catching sight of Merlin’s shit eating grin and falls to his knees. 

Darkness smothers his vision and it blurs, where colors streak, solid forms unfocusing. From his fuzzy vision, Merlin’s form begins to dissipate into flower petals and he finds himself thinking of Konan with her paper craft before he briefly loses consciousness. 

When he awakens, he finds himself a circular room with an assortment of objects. A bookshelf crammed with books, its littered with weapons and a desk and bed. There appears a wooden trap door on the stone floor. The tower is also open, with no windows and gives access to the scenery below. Merlin appears ahead, watching as the sun begins to set, where the mountains in the distance glow. The mage turns back to him, as if knowing of his awakening.

“What the hell was that.” Sasori spat, indignant. “You said I shouldn’t enter the tower or I’ll be trapped.”

Merlin’s lips quirk into a cat like grin, “Yes, I did. I only stole a small part of you, the rest of your soul is at the base of the tower, asleep.”

Sasori knows of a similar concept back home, where Shadow Clones could accumulate knowledge and send it back to the main host. Instead of answering back, he judges him from a sidelong glance. It seemed Merlin left him on the floor and he helps himself back up and leans against the rim of the tower interior. Outside, the land stretches out indefinitely; there seemed to be a lot he missed when they were on the ground. 

“Now, allow me to get to an explanation,” Merlin begins and sits at the edge of the bed. “The short version is because of a clairvoyance.”

“Clairvoyance?” Sasori repeats, unconvinced. “You’re going to tell me I’m here because of a vision you had? Preposterous.”

“Correct,” Merlin nods, shrugging sheepishly. “I’ve absolutely no idea why, though, my theory’s still a work in progress and we’re only at the beginning.”

With a small wave of his staff, energy forms in front of them and shows them an intricately made screen. Sasori angles his head, watching a scene play on it that contained an isolated hall and a sleeping figure.

“We aren’t of the same world,” Merlin clarifies, causing Sasori’s attention to snap back to him with a leveled gaze. “But, yours and mine are fated to overlap due to certain circumstances.”

Sasori nods impassively, brown eyes flickering back to the screen, watching a close up of the sleeping figure. The figure is joined with a bespectacled girl and a strange white creature. They seemed to be talking about something.

“Anyway, it would affect the world you left behind, your legacy.” Merlin continues, crossing his arms. “You don’t want that destroyed, right?”

Sasori remains quiet, contemplative. It prompts for the mage to talk more, much to his chagrin.

“The future I envisioned showed me heroes of other worlds coming forth to assist ours. _Our_ problem would bleed into yours, infecting it with something disastrous. Something akin to what happened at the end of the Fourth Shinobi War– I’m sure the person who reanimated you didn’t tell you all the details?”

Sasori shakes his head. He became a puppet to his former pawn and spy, it was an ironic twist of fate. He hated every minute of it; being partnered with Deidara– that brat, having to deal with his feelings and being controlled. Being a puppeteer, he relished in controlling, but while controlled by Kabuto’s jutsu, he grit his teeth and bared with it.

“I happened upon your world’s story completely by chance,” Merlin admits honestly, now rubbing his chin, contemplative. “Only till the conclusion of the war though, so I don’t have all the details. But I can give them to you, how about it?”

Sasori gave him a small nod in agreement, and he watches Merlin grab his staff and light forms at the center. It grows into a large ball and Merlin gently tips it and the light shoots toward him. Upon impacting his body, the energy dispersed, fragmenting and spreading throughout his body. Memories that aren’t his are given to him, from different perspectives, likely from the different commanders. It shows the battle concerning Uchiha Madara, the resurrection of Kaguya and how the jinchuriki brat and the Uchiha survivor were able to save the world. But the lingering effects and revelations about the world and Kaguya alerted them to another threat: the other members of the Otsutsuki clan.

“Why chose me?” Sasori grumbled after a few minutes. “I’m no hero.”

“You were still an important figure who caused major events,” Merlin counters with a shrug, his eyes crinkle with a sparkle of amusement.“...And I don’t know why you were chosen either, I just knew I had to come pick you up.”

Sasori scowls at the lame reasoning and turns back to the screen. The peaceful hallway he saw the figures in now were engulfed with fire and plumes of smoke– and the person, a girl with red hair rushed forward into a collapsed room where she found the bespectacled girl underneath the rubble. A light consumes the room and he watches the red head cast into swirling blue light. 

She’s thrown into a burning city, alone, with no one else by her side. After a shriek of hearing something inhuman, she barely jumped away. Another voice raises behind her and the girl jerks her head, barely getting a glimpse, seeing a blur of shadow, who catapults the threat away.The formerly bespectacled girl returns, covered in armor, thwacking skeletal warriors with a large shield and the two girls exchange some words. Sasori’s eyes narrow back to his current savior.

“Who is that?" Sasori blinks, unimpressed by the development. “I’m assuming they’re important.” 

“Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu Kyrielight, a Master and her Demi-Servant. Ah, I might as well explain the other technicalities of this world too!” Merlin responds with a laugh, “They’ll become important in the future.” 

Merlin goes to explain the technicalities of what Master and Servants are, summarizing the latter into a condense explanation how they were formally heroes summoned forth to complete in something called a Holy Grail War, where seven Masters and seven Servants would compete in a battle royale of sorts. The mage explains the seven classes, but mentions he noticed there would be other kinds in the future. 

Sasori finds himself frowning lightly when Merlin goes into Masters and Magic Crests. The mention of Mage families which causes the puppeteers to scowl viscously. It reminded him of the pompous clan heads back in his world, constantly competing to undermine one another. 

Then he went into other topics, like Mana and Od– describing briefly how the former is similar to Chakra. The concept was similar enough, which helped him understand. Servants were technically like summons but they would feed off of their Master’s mana opposed to having separate chakra and set amount of time to remain with their contractor. 

Merlin additionally delves into the history of this world, about the countries and the oceans that separate the continents in brief whimsical sentences and the different factions contributing. Sasori raises a brow about the Church and Clock Tower, watching how Merlin explains them in clear indifference. He also explains the importance of Chaldea and what kind of organization it is too and how Ritsuka was the 48th Master Candidate, a civilian roped into it by chance.

Sasori leans back, face rigid into a mask of indifference, but he’s silently intrigued. He takes his time when processing all the data and lazily eyes the screen showing a woman by the name of Olga Marie sacrificed and the pair from before fight off a sword wielder– _Saber_ class, and an abomination wretched akin to Orochimaru’s grotesque experiments.

The puppeteer has seen his fair share of grotesque scenes, he’s committed a fair amount of them too. But the sight of the self proclaimed Demon Pillar makes him frown a smidge. He controls his emotions, blankly observing the pillar. It was a tower of corpses intermingled, an amalgamation of devastation and despair– and hardly the type of art he cared for.

Merlin looks at him curiously, and smiles. “Concerned about them?”

“Not really,” Sasori deflects flatly, “but you have me interested for now, so I’ll contemplate whether I’ll assist.”

Sasori normally didn’t care about others, not when he’s been so used to his own solitude. But there’s something about the look in the red headed girl’s eyes that reminds him of the determination of that Konoha brat who took him down. It appeared this girl on the screen was only becoming accustomed to despair and sorrow.

As the scene ends, he watches at how she blankly observes the devastation with uncharacteristic calmness. A quiet flame of resolve burns in the girl’s eyes, and she’s soon embraced by her partner and transported back to safety. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes you just: push two interests together and because you don't care. my other reasoning for this is because some of the seiyuu in nart also share characters in the fate series and thought why not? LOL.


	2. Final Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasori wonders why Ritsuka takes all the burdens of humanity onto her shoulders. He contemplates on his decision, while assisting Merlin on his slight mess up.

Technically, there are seven major singularities Chaldea, but Sasori hadn’t considered there'd be tiny blip in the radar about tinier ones. It felt like forever since he arrived, he’s already lost count of the days and he gathers time in Avalon runs differently compared to Ritsuka’s world. He watches over Ritsuka’s journey, from her fledgling beginnings in France, consumed by the flames of hatred, to how she and Mashu unify their allies in Rome, and where they cross the sea in Okeanos with a pirate crew, sailing toward a bright future.

When they crash into London, they encounter the King of Mages– Solomon. Sasori snorts when the mage condescends onto the girl and watches her bare her teeth with frustration. Her eyes hold nothing but anger and disdain, but her resolves burns brighter then before while she works and directs her allies. Amusement flutters across his face briefly, where he ponders how she’ll handle it. He can’t fight the smug smile that graces his lips either, because he’s a horrible person.

The fight waged leaves them haggard, but she looks hopeful, it dashed his sadistic desires. Sasori wonders briefly how she persists despite the setbacks. He knows he would have given up long ago. Saving the world is a fool’s errand, but a part of him wants to knock around the arrogant Grand Caster. It’s almost akin to the memories given to him from Merlin considering Madara, and it makes him bite his lip.

During his stay, Merlin had provided him numerous texts upon his request– with magic, apparently. It kept Sasori from being bored during the interludes between the Singularities, where Ritsuka got to know her companions and where they delved into emergency situations.

When the Fifth Singularity rolls around, Sasori watches Merlin perch on the bed, meditating.

“What are you doing?” Sasori asks, lifting his gaze up from a book concerning poisons. 

Merlin’s eyes are closed, but he smirks over to him. “Oh, just taking a nap.” 

Sasori squints suspiciously at the man who falls onto the bed, head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. Magic hums around Merlin’s form, now outlined in white light that Sasori recognizes from before. His brows furrow and his gaze darts over to the screen– watching as Cú Chulainn Alter cripples Karna and interrupting his fight with Arjuna. 

The beast of a man stalks over to the group and does battle with them. Metal scrapes against one another, where his spear attempts to pierce Mashu’s shield. She covers for Prince Rama and Florence Nightingale who attempt to flank him.

The battle toils on and they are barely keeping themselves together. The Berserker’s strength likely would crush any puppets Sasori might throw at him. They managed to evade Cú Chulainn's Noble Phantasm, where the Demi-Servant acted as decoy, but she was able to defend against it through sheer willpower and Lord Chaldeas.

The taller man draws back, not even breaking a sweat– Sasori figured it might’ve been like a sparring match for him because the others from Chaldea looked out of breath. Ritsuka watched the scene with a mask indifference, but her eyes darted between those engaged in battle– it looked like she was trying to calculate a different plan.

Cú Chulainn Alter stalks toward to attack Mashu again, preparing his Noble Phantasm and their allies were getting ready for another fight. A strange fog rolls over the barren landscape, shining from the small white creature named _Fou–_ Merlin called it Cath Palug, jumped in between Mashu and Cú Chulainn. Merlin appears in the midst of a battle with his usual carefree smile, and surprises both factions.

“ _Dozing off as I stroll along, I find myself in a strange land of wilderness.”_ Merlin on screen says with nonchalance. He earns a couple of incredulous stares. “ _Is this the dream continued, or merely an illusion? Well, not that it matters.”_

Merlin cracks a smile at them, “ _Good morning and hello, all. Everyone’s trusted advisor, Mr. Merlin is here._ ”

“ _Who’s that cocky fellow?!_ ” Ritsuka blurts out, exasperated.

 _“Right, you, never mind that. This appearance is a special service, an incognito visit totally on a whim_ .” Merlin’s gaze lower, looking forlorn, “ _Your paths and mine are ot yet set to cross. I mean I should be a shut-in from a tower in paradise to begin with._ ” 

Merlin offers his audience an impish smile, which causes Sasori to roll his eyes. “ _Just consider this a lucky visit from a wonderful gentleman and be done with it, okay_?”

Cú Chulainn Alter’s baritone voice cuts in, flat, with little amusement. “ _So–– what kind of blockhead are you? Is this what they call a daydream?_ ”

“ _Of course. It’s my ol’ speciality, making do by confusing the opponent!_ ” Merlin replies with a grin, with a teasing lilt. “ _Oh! Congratulations on your coronation, Cú Chulainn! To think the day would come when the great hero of Ireland settles down on a throne. My, my, destiny is a strange thing._ ”

Cú Chulainn Alter scowls at Merlin, “ _This feeling… You must be an incubus… Which means… I see, you are the Stargazer. Your meddling is breaking the rules. Is this fine, mage? Your pride will crumble to pieces_.”

“ _Not to worry, we’ll play it by ear. Besides, I have no pride or principles, or anything like that_.” The mage gives a shrug, continuing to remain calm.

“ _W...Who are you?_ ” Mashu asks, eyes wide.

Sasori watches the mage glance over to the shield wielder, with eyes filled with years of wisdom rather than mischief. It’s a look he thought he saw Merlin give him upon their first meeting, but he waved it away at the mage being an obnoxious know it all. 

_“I watch everything in this world from an island in the farthest lands. Yes, I watch everything. That’s the important point. I am but an observer, simply observing… At least for now._ ” Merlin supplies to her, his form begins to flicker, his illusion beginning to crackle.

“ _Whoa, I really am about to wake from my nap. Sorry, but this is about all the help I can lend you. You’ll have to finish slaying that beast on your own. Once you have done so, the future in which we meet shall come. Farewell, then, until that slightly altered future. Take care of Cath Palug for me._ ”

When his form fades from the screen, Sasori's head jerks over to the man on the bed who languidly arises from the bed with a yawn. Like some kind of Sleeping Beauty, or something. 

“ _My,_ what a nice nap!” Merlin says innocently, hiding a yawn between fanned fingers. 

Sasori gives him a pointed look of _I know what you did_ , then goes back into reading his forgotten book.

* * *

Time passes slowly between the Fifth and the Sixth Singularity, and Sasori watches the scenes go by with a hand against his cheek. His book is forgotten in favor of watching the interactions between the Hassans and Ritsuka where they dual one another. 

The group of Hassan move elegantly across the rugged terrain, graceful akin to the puppets he once commanded. They move in sync of one another, avoiding the strike of Ritsuka’s other servants whom she previously summoned by chance. 

They move like true ninja, Sasori thinks and he unconsciously flicks his fingers. He pretends he’s commanding them with chakra strings, fingers deftly moving and doesn’t notice how Merlin watches on impassively. The man quirks a tiny smile, but doesn’t say anything. One had many personalities, another a cursed arm, and the last filled with poison. 

When they do battle with Knights of the Round, he watches intrigued as the Grand Assassin makes his grand appearance. The Old Man on the Mountain has an imposing figure, whose able to hold out against the other swordsman he didn’t bother remembering. 

Just before the fight with his King concluded, Merlin looked over to Sasori with a carefree smile and went to lay down atop the bed again.

“Got somewhere to be?” Sasori quipped, watching him from the other side of the circular room. _You’re going somewhere._

“Duty calls.” Merlin vaguely replies and lays down. _I am._

Sasori shrugs his shoulders, going back to reading through a book regarding magical theory. Merlin surprisingly doesn’t awaken for awhile, leaving Sasori alone. It’s strange, because he’s grown used to the eccentric man– despite how annoying he might be. 

When he glances up, another screen flickers below the first one Merlin made. The sounds between the two overlap, but Sasori watches the second from the corner of his eye and sees a throne room painted brilliantly with Gold. 

He sees Merlin’s back, with six other servants and a golden man who leans on his fist. 

* * *

Merlin incarnates as a Caster, Sasori learns while watching the screen. Time goes differently for both screens, where both parties are both busy with different emergencies. Chaldea doesn’t arrive into the Seventh Singularity for a few months leaving Sasori with a lucid dreaming roommate. 

Everything goes down hill for them when Chaldea defeats fake Tiamat– or, Avenger, whose name is Gorgon. Avalon begins to shake ferociously, causing the puppeteer to stumble. Merlin seemed to leave a part of himself inside of the real Tiamat’s dream to keep her at bay, but didn’t account for them to follow him back. Tiamat’s spawn invades Avalon somehow, tittering amongst themselves when they climb to the top of the tower. 

One of them pierces through Merlin’s stomach, and he watches simultaneously the Merlin in Babylonia spits up blood and fade away. Merlin regains consciousness and summons Calburn and slices through the bug like appendages. 

“Merlin.” Sasori greets with a wave, amusement flickers in his eyes. “Good Morning.” 

“Urgh. I hadn’t expected this,” Merlin grumbles and backs away from another monster who attempts to invade the tower. “It was naïve of me to not consider that happening.”

Sasori lets the man ramble when batting off their foe; the tower rumbles and it begins to smell of iron. 

“You mentioned before you’re able to construct weapons,” Sasori begins slowly, he narrows his eyes toward the other. “Give me my puppets, and I’ll help you out, I hate owing debts.”

Merlin looks back over to him bewildered, then curses loudly. “How could I forget you were a shinobi!” 

“Because you’re a lazy, scatterbrained bastard.” Sasori quips, watching the man wave his staff again. “Oh, and bring my puppet body while you’re at it.”

Light forms on the man’s staff and begins to gain shape. Various scrolls drop to the floor and Sasori ghost hand is quick to unravel one of them– the one that destroyed an entire nation. His puppet body drops in too and Sasori’s quick to possess it immediately, his core begins to pulsate in result. He opens the compartment in his chest where his chakra strings are unleashed.

Now in a solid form, he pours chakra into the scroll and over a hundred puppets are summoned to defend Avalon. It’s been too long since he let his puppets dance, and he revels in the destruction they create. Sasori wears a manic grin when weaving them (and himself) into position.

 _“Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.”_ Sasori whispers, he weaves the hand signs; his chakra strings quiver and his puppets rattle; he jumps into the fight.

Merlin backs him up, helping to strengthen him and jumps into the fray too.

They dance, where red clashes with purple, blurring at sonic speeds and Merlin’s unable to keep up with them. He watches in horror and fascination at the inhumane cries from the beasts dwindling from both Sasori’s dance and the amount of magical energy of Avalon burning their forms away.

Putrid black blood spatters against the tower, around the flower field and onto the roof of the tower. Sasori’s puppet body stands atop, commanding an army, letting loose flames and strong streams of water. His puppets ripped them apart, incinerated, suspended them into genjutsu, tore into their limbs. They tortured their foes, freeing the enemy of the accursed bodies they were forced into.

At the end, the enemy is vanquished and Merlin watches Sasori hop through the window, the scroll on his back and jumped inside. The indifferent mask forms again, and his puppet body doesn't help with dead fish look.

“Can I trust you to hold the fort?” Merlin asked, now healing his companion of injury, which helped replenished Sasori’s chakra. “Things are looking dire in Babylonia and I have to help them through the final stretch.” 

“Thought you couldn’t leave the tower?” Sasori asked, brow raised, “Or was that a lie?”

Merlin tapped the inner stone of the tower, and smiled. “Looks like it's letting me out of my bird cage for once.” 

With a sigh, Sasori gives the incubus a wry smile. “If you do something for me, sure.”

Merlin squints at him, then sighs. “Aah, fine, fine~ I’ll make it snappy!”

Sasori watches the man disappear in a whirlwind of flowers, and reappear alongside the rest of the resistance. 

* * *

The Seventh Singularity ends emotionally, as expected, and those at Chaldea work intensively to locate the supposed King of Mages. 

It takes a couple of days, and the destined pair grimly approach the conclusion of their play. Sasori watches them fussing about from the corner of the bed, picking apart and fixing his puppets. A lot of them had gotten damaged in the process, but he’s lucky that Merlin’s expendable with his Item Creation skill.

The mage, clearly looks exhausted, from all the magic he’s used and Sasori shoots him a crooked smile.

“Got my order ready?” Sasori bluntly asks, with a teasing lilt. “you should be healed enough.”

“This takes a lot of concentration!” Merlin huffs, beads of sweat roll down his brow. He’s long removed the cloak on his shoulders, “and making a mass quantity with such specific measurements and specifications are difficult.”

“What if we need them again? You might get your ass handed to you again.” Sasori replies while repairing one of his puppets, the whole room filled with sanded limbs for his beautiful children. 

Merlin lets out a grunt, looking away. Sasori relishes his squirming and smirks. 

“You’re so bossy,” Merlin frowns with mock accusation.

“Not as much as Gilgamesh,” Sasori defends with a shrug.

“Fair point,” The Caster sighs, “that man ran me ragged, _every_ single day in Babylonia.”

“For good reason, since I watched you try to woo people for information when you weren’t keeping up with your duties.” Sasori said matter of factually, without looking up.

“Ah! You've been paying attention! And here I thought you weren’t interested in helping the Master,” Merlin perks up, amused, “how sweet.”

“Not really,” Sasori gives a shrug, indifferent. “I wanted my puppets back because it gets boring doing absolutely nothing. I missed tinkering.”

Merlin lets out a low hum in response, allowing for the finished puppet limbs to fall around Sasori. The red head glances over blankly, mask briefly breaking to show his annoyance and gets back to work and they lapse into silence as Merlin starts creating more parts.

* * *

Moving images play before Sasori, accompanied by sound and all. It’s a bloody battle, akin to the Shinobi Wars he’s been apart of– probably rivaling the intensity of the fourth one. There are people fighting against atrocities far wilder than most of Sasori’s grotesque dreams.

The creatures remind him of Zetsu, the plant bastard, for some reason. He loathes the Demon Pillars, it makes him scowl.

“She’s saving the world, huh, _how nice_.” Sasori tone tinged with sarcasm, he raises a lazy brow to the spectacle, eyes glancing between screens while the girl move between the battlefields and aiding the people there. “Reminds me of the guy who attempted to save mine.”

“Oh, Uzamaki Naruto, right?” Merlin guessed, “Well, he _did_ save your world! I got to witness parts of it.”

Sasori gives a noncommittal grunt while watching the girl, Fujimaru Ritsuka– the Master to Chaldea, an organization residing in a tundra. A shadow organization that partook in experiments relating to magic and other things Sasori didn’t understand. But their research _did_ interest him, and it seemed Merlin knew too with his sly cat like grin.

“What, want to meet her?” Merlin teased, hopeful.

“Not really,.” Sasori denied, with a dismissive shake of his head. “She looks annoying to deal with.”

The watch on in silence when she defeats Goetia, and has a heartwarming reunion with Mashu. They watch as the blizzard clears outside, allowing for the duo to see the bright blue sky after months of darkness.

A person filled with all this hope might overwhelm his own darkness, and he hated to admit it, but he didn’t want to show his vulnerability to someone like that. It wasn’t like she was a puppeteer, she wasn’t like Kankarou who understood him, who he entrusted a future to. But Merlin’s earlier words continue to strike a chord; he’s on the fence about his decision still and Sasori bitterly hates how the mage’s words burrowed deeply.

He resented it and unconsciously it made him bite his lip. Merlin mentioned how their worlds would overlap, and he remained ever the sage– remaining vague. He wanted to torture him, but even after getting stabbed through the stomach during the Babylonia crisis, the Grand Caster remained resilient. 

Sasori begrudgingly assisted him with medical ninjutsu, stuck between letting the idiot suffer and patch up the wounds himself because he’s probably an expert. But Merlin kindly reminded him how _Healers usually can’t heal themselves well._

The puppeteer’s attention peters from the screen, while the sounds from the video feed become white noise when he zones out, while contemplating his answer still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dialogue from the Fifth Singularity came from the NA FGO translation!


	3. Performance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasori decides to help, gets summoned and gets a tour around Chaldea. 
> 
> Also he makes a bet with Shuten Douji.

There’s a blank period, when more troubles crop up for Chaldea– _of course that would happen._ Sasori observes how Ritsuka sucks up any real emotion, putting her fears aside to make a brave face. 

The first is filled with horrendous villains, the second ruled by women and he watched how Chaldea kept busy because at the end of the year the United Nations would step in to process what they’d do with Chaldea. 

Just watching the events pass by made Sasori antsy, his fingers twitched, pretending he was using his chakra strings. The battle from months ago breathed life back into him, he missed the thrill, and he felt less like a static doll again. This feeling was a surprise, which made him feel apprehensive.

Secretly, he wanted to live again; all this thinking while staying with the damned hermit made Sasori contemplate over life. Human life was such a fleeting thing, akin to the art his former partner made. Blink once, explode, and it’d be gone. He resented his circumstances, it molded him to who he became– but he came to peace with it after he perished again. Chaldea offered a fleeting life for second chances for numerous– from heroes heralded over time, to cunning heinous villains. 

When he turns to Merlin watching the sunrise over the distant mountains, the mage turns, wearing an all knowing smile.

It was time.

* * *

“Finally decided eh?” Merlin chuckles, “Well, allow me to help you out.”

Sasori glares at him, causing the mage to blink. 

“What? It’s not like I’m going to screw with you or anything,” Merlin protests, and goes to grab his staff that’s leaning against the wall. 

Sasori doesn’t believe a word this exhausting man says, not if he considers the subtle innuendos and pranks he pulled during his stay.

Merlin twirls his wooden staff and it glows, and the power pulsates moving over to him. It feels like the first time when he first arrived, when the damn incubus tore his soul apart. Instead, Sasori feels like he’s floating and the scenery begins to blur into an amalgamation of colors. He feels like he’s being put together, he feels _fuller_ like when he first arrived and the puppeteer puts together he might be fixing his soul. 

“See you over there.” Merlin distantly whispers before everything fades.

* * *

Sasori bites the inside of his mouth, lips set in a thin line when he feels a pulling sensation. Days ago– wait, no, months? Years? Whatever– he never thought he’d be eating his words again. 

He understood enough Servant jargon from Merlin to know he was being bound to another. He probably was being placed into a Servant container, and he had a vague idea of which one. There was only one Servant Class suitable for shinobi, it’d be the one who lurked in the shadows, hands tainted with stains of blood, and were fast with reconnaissance. 

When he’s brought through time and space, it feels like he’s under a knife, spliced into nothing but molecules and his cells. He breaks apart, and he wants to scream, it’s nothing like when he first built his puppet body and squished the only living part inside him into the chest compartment. Luckily he cannot see what is happening to him, but without sight, it makes the mind wander and it's hard to dismiss his overactive imagination. No, it was fairly worse and he wants to kill Merlin for convincing him to help this girl on whim.

The bright light clouds his vision, but it isn’t long till the whirling of gears and other machinery registers in his ear drums. He smells lacquer and wood immediately and his eyes shoot open. He sees dots coat his vision, they gradually melt away, blinking out like twinkling stars.

When the sounds of the whirling machines slow down, Sasori’s blurry gaze slowly settles in front of him where natural light peaks through. A quick glance around and he’s surrounded by a familiar darkness. It appeared to be the dimensions of his old Hiruko puppet, which he settles into the seat he incorporated inside. He sighs and peers through the eye sockets– outside he recognizes the girl who he wrote off as an annoying, hope bearing, nuisance. 

“ _Hmph._ Do not bother to try my patience, I do not want to become friends with you.” Sasori remarked, utilizing the deep baritone of Hiruko. The more he looks at her, the Chaldea Master stares back, but regards him with a knowing smile like she’s dealt with his kind before. “Assassin Class, Sasori of the Red Sand.” 

“How interesting, is that wood?” An unfamiliar voice asks, they lumber closer to his vessel. He hears fingernails tapping against Hiruko’s back and he frowns.“ Hey? This probably isn’t your actual form right? Because it sounds hollow– I wonder what it looks like under this cloak! I want to look at it in better detail sometime! Stop by my workshop, sometime, yes?”

“You can’t put everyone under the knife, Da Vinci!” An incredulous voice goes shrill, his eyes darts to a girl with glasses. It appeared to be Mashu, who nervously plays with her fingers.

A feminine voice lets out a series of giggles, who he assumes is Da Vinci. Sasori already wants to go back to the throne and rot there; this was a mistake. 

“Hi Sasori, welcome to Chaldea!” Ritsuka greets with a wave, “My name is Fujimaru Ritsuka. Allow me to show you around.” 

Sasori wordlessly flicks his chakra strings, and Hiruko’s body shifts into motion. He meanders behind Ritsuka and Mashu at a reasonable distance, a door automatically opens and they enter a long hallway. But due to his limited sight, he leans in close and squints to look outside. 

The halls are mundane, they stretch on and coated in silver and white. There’s also a strange feeling of sensing others in this building– it’s probably the result of becoming a Servant. 

“Hey, Sasori?” His Master begins, there is a moment of silence, then continues. “Are you really a puppet?”

“Yes.” He answered gruffly, he really didn’t want to play twenty questions with the little girl. “I’m versatile, don’t worry about me being unable to pull my weight.” 

“Oh, no, I didn't mean to imply that!” Ritsuka gasped, she rubs the back of her neck. “I’m just curious, is all!”

He wonders briefly if she said that to please him, then doesn’t answer.

“What about the cloak?” Mashu inquires, “You’re using it to conceal your body right?”

“Correct,” Sasori confirmed, “it leaves a lot to your imagination, doesn’t it?”

Ritsuka and Mashu appear to agree and they gradually come to a stop. Sasori’s splayed fingers also straighten and Hiruko’s body thumps onto the ground. 

“Here’s your key, by the way.” Mashu said, who reaches into her pocket and hands him a silver key with a tag attached.

Sasori flicks his pinky, which raises the puppet’s arm and swipes at the key. “Thank you.”

He flicks his index and thumb together and the key falls through the compartment of the hand and it falls into his actual hands. He glances at the door number of where he’d be staying and makes a mental note of where he’d be staying. 

“Okay, now that’s settled, we’re gonna show you the other facilities!” Ritsuka announces with a grin. She smiles a little too bright for him and encourages him to keep moving after them.

* * *

Sasori’s tour of Chaldea is far hardly glamorous, reminding him briefly of Suna's medical wards with the smell of sterilization. They’ve passed by a far amount of staff and Servant alike and he’s remained tight lipped whenever either approached their shared Master and he’d lower his chakra strings, allowing for the wooden limbs to settle on the floor. Most of the conversations he chose to ignore, opting for Ritsuka and Mashu to speak for him. 

It isn’t long till someone attempts to gorge Hiruko open to sate their curiosity. When they approach the entrance of the cafeteria, he can hear the background noise grow louder as the automatic doors swish open.

Sasori doesn’t know if he’ll be able to eat, let alone get to feel outside of his puppets. After not needing human necessities for nearly twenty years, his mouth felt dry. 

_Tap tap._

Sasori’s half lidded eyes narrow, searching for the origin of the noise. 

_Tap tap._

The hollow sound echoes against the wood, he frowns. For a moment, there’s nothing- until he hears the wood creak from a heavier weight above him and the tapping is harder than the last. 

Instinctively, his fingers fly and he unveils Hiruko’s tail from underneath the cloak. He angles it threateningly at the intruder which earns him a few gasps from outside.

“Woah!” A childish voice squeaks, and whoever was atop him tumbled off to the side. “There’s a tail under there!”

“How foolish,” Sasori rumbles, irritation present, “you’re asking to be killed.”

He hears a sigh where he hears _Jack apologize!_ It sounded like Ritsuka. More voices join them at the entrance much to his annoyance.

“Sorry.” The child called Jack said, not sounding at all sincere. Cheeky brat. 

Sasori watches the kid come into view, and his brow furrows. Jack wears a ragged black cape and is adorned by scars. Sickly greenish yellow eyes peer at him curiously, they dart back and forth and he wonders if the brat’s trying to see where to cut. He catches a glint of something sharp underneath the robes; suspicious.

“Does he have any food preferences Master?” another voice joins in, it’s lower in pitch.

Sasori dart over, seeing a man with white hair and tanned skin.

“I don’t eat.” Sasori replied, “Puppets do not require food.”

The strangers outside likely were staring, unable to say anything. He turns Hiruko’s head at his Master who watched him wordlessly.

“I don’t want to waste anymore time here,” Sasori said, already motioning for the puppet to turn around, he lowers the tail back underneath and it’s hidden again. “The simulator room was next?”

Ritsuka flounders a bit, then laughs sheepishly. “Oh right! Sorry about that~!”

It’s even more grating in person, but he can’t tell if it was all apart of her character. He watches her move ahead of him and back through the door with Mashu in tow and they’re on the move again. 

When they enter, there’s already a battle going on. Figures move across the large monitors, stabbing into monsters that are as large as Summoning animals. There’s two figures at the control panel, they’re both pretty built. 

Except, one has a lion head. _What the hell._

“Sasori of the Red Sand?” Lion head pipes up.

“How flattering, news travels fast here.” Sasori remarked listlessly.

“He’s a puppet?” The other man looks incredulous.

“So he claims!” Ritsuka giggles, “we’re showing him around.” 

“Nikola Tesla.” The non anthropomorphic man introduces himself, he wears a one hundred watt smile that could blind someone. “Archer Class; I am an inventor of the superior AC– !”

Lion man roars, “AC is a cheap imitation of _DC!”_

Tesla appeared to bristle at that statement, ready to argue.

“Don’t start fighting again!” Ritsuka cries, “You don’t want Helena to scold both of you, yeah?”

“Apologizes Master.” The men deflated in unison, dread creeping into their expressions.

Lion man clears his throat, and waves too. “I am Thomas Edison, the Presi-King– Caster Class. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Sasori! Did you come into the simulation room to get some practice?”

“... I just came to look around.” Sasori states matter of fact, eyes shifting to the door between the monitors, the red light above it flickers off. “But perhaps I could change my plans.”

It’s not like he had anything else to do, no one to keep waiting. When he glanced at Ritsuka her whole face appeared to brighten while Mashu also appeared curious. The metal door between the monitors creaks open, and reveals a duo battered from the fighting. A bespectacled man leans on a petite girl with a large gourd on her hip. 

“Jekyll tired himself out,” The girl with horns drawled, “Hyde called it quits after they were weeded out. Those enemies ya put in gave us a bit of a surprise.”

The inventors muttered out apologizes to the girl who gave a shrug of nonchalance. Sasori watched her gaze fall onto him, and she smiled.

“Though, I’m still in the mood for another round,” She continued, gaze flickering to Sasori. “Mind indulgin’ me, sweetie?”

“Only if you don’t slow me down.” Sasori proposed.

The oni giggles and slides the unconscious blond man off her shoulder, leaning him against the wall. Tesla inputs something onto the keyboard, the monitor flickers to life and it shows rugged terrain atop mountain tops. He watches Mashu shuffle over toward the unconscious man, who appears to stir. 

“Assassin Class, Shuten Douji.” The girl introduces herself with a smirk, and goes inside first.

Sasori follows after, Hiruko’s tail dragging behind him. 

* * *

It’s a jarring experience inside the simulation room, because the moment he steps inside they’re already on a craggy terrain overlooking the ocean. Shuten Douji stands nearby, delicately balancing a plate filled with grapes and peaches and a cup that stinks of sake.

“You’re fighting empty handed?” Sasori asks, trying to keep a level tone. Who fights while _eating?_

“Not exactly, you'll see,” Shuten with a shrug, then glances ahead. “Our entourage has arrived.”

A piercing screech alerts Sasori to the sky above, where a group of shadows block out the artificially made sun. They crash to the Earth, kicking up dust due to the impact. It's blown away by flapping wings, revealing several wyverns, they circle about, hungrily prowling. 

“How about we make a competition out of this?” Shuten proposes up, she licks her lips, “Whoever wins has to satisfy the other.”

“Sure.” Sasori replies flippantly and arches his hands, causing Hiruko's limbs to spread out, his tail swishing from side to side. 

Shuten giggles, “Heard that Master? I hope you’ll help keep count.”

With that said and done, the duo leaps into the fray. Hiruko’s tail slithers about, extends straight and slams into the wyverns in one fell swoop. Sasori hears the wooden appendages clinking, but feels pressure on it which causes his brows to furrow. Everything clicks when he watches the oni run across them like they’re _stairs_ , she jumps and kicks them with her feet. 

When he retracts his tail, he pierces into the hoard, making a shish kabob of wyverns who fade away from the damage. Sasori jerks the tail back to bat away the overgrown lizards foolishly attempting to attack him in his blind spot. The wyverns dive and flap their wings, creating a tornado that tears into him and it causes Sasori to flinch. He wasn’t supposed to feel pain while inside of Hiruko– it was supposed to be a safety measure, but it felt like he earned several paper cuts. The dragons didn’t let up with their assault, instead of wind, they spewed fire at him.

Sasori’s face scrunches up into a scowl, fingers already moving fast to draw the tail back. Once it’s back, he urges his puppet to leap into the air and rotate into a spin attack. The tail pierces the wyverns and they roar in pain. The smell of burnt fabric remains trapped inside causing him to cough, it makes him frown because he _shouldn’t_ be affected by this.

What changed? He can't think right now because of the pain.

When Sasori lands and settles back onto the ground, he spots Shuten nearby looking at him curiously. The rest of the wyverns appeared to be cleared away, their corpses nowhere to be seen. 

“My, _my_ , so that is what laid underneath.” Shuten observed, while taking a sip of her drink. “A tengu mask?” Her eyes narrow, with a mischievous gleam, “or an _oni_?”

Sasori gives a noncommittal grunt in response. 

Shuten lets out a low hum, then turns away and heads further toward the cliff’s edge. The puppeteer follows after and it’s not long till they’re assaulted by clouds of black and white. With a gesture of his right hand, Sasori removes the fabric mask on Hiruko’s face and unleashes a horde of senbon at them. 

The oni meanwhile jumps into the air and spins, she tears through the haze with her claws. She jumps back and uncorks the gourd on her hip and watches something spray at the dizzying cloud. The enemies drop like flies, melting from whatever liquid petrified them.

Sasori lunges Hiruko’s body again and spins, cutting through the clouds, and hears a crackle of the appendages, tearing of leather and delicate snapping bone. The beating of wings sizzles out when he lands, and he’s able to spot what attacked them– large insects with stingers lay torn to pieces, twitching as they fade away into darkness.

The distant beating of wings catches Sasori's attention and he fluidly swerves Hiruko’s body around to face another small horde. The insects coordinate themselves, dodging the best they can, some falling to protect the others and they’re able to evade the swish the wooden tail, diving under and above. Their stingers ram themselves into the back and Sasori watches incredulously how light filters through the wood, causing him to swear. He rotates his puppet again, slashing through them clumsily. 

When he hears the beating of wings again, Sasori turns Hiruko erratically, ready to strike, but watches Shuten gorge into the insect with glee. They pitifully fall to the ground and the oni lands gracefully, crushes the remains underneath her heel. 

“You’re lookin’ under the weather, sweetie. '' Shuten drawls, canting her head over to him, lips curved into a smirk. “Wanna call it quits?”

“Hardly.” Sasori scoffs shortly, but it’s a lie, because whatever magic constructed his form connected his Hiruko body to his own, like it’s another appendage that felt pain.

“No need to keep up the bravado, sweetie, but come along then. ” Shuten replies and gestures for him to follow. 

When they amble toward the edge of the terrain, a large beast stands proudly before him. It lets out an ear piercing screech that makes Sasori grimace. It charges forth and attempts to pounce on Hiruko, but Sasori waves both hands and goes to strike with Hiruko’s tail. In midair, the beast’s claws break it, scattering the pieces of the tail. 

Sasori gasps at the impact, biting down at his lip in frustration and attempts to swerve around before the beast lands. He’s successful, by only a mili-second, and the Ugallu makes a crater in the rock. Sasori makes Hiruko jump back and steels himself for another attack, but he’s beaten by the punch by Shuten. The oni slams her legs into the beast’s spine and it lets out a yowl of pain. She back flips away, uncorking her gourd again and the strange liquid from before sprays the beast. 

Landing by his side, Shuten spares him a glance and gives him a toothy grin. The Ugallu staggers in the crater, shaking itself off, but it seemed dazed.

“What did you do?” Sasori demands.

“Poison,” Shuten replies, “Or well, I gave the cute kitten a little to drink.” 

His eyes fall to the gourd at her side, then back to her. 

“You look terrible, sweetie, lemme help you.” Shuten then pours her drink over the wood and it stinks of sake. Sasori grimaces, but it’s not like she can see. Her lips pursed together, pouting. “It’s been quite sometime someone has worked me this hard~”

Sasori grunts at the commentary, watching the oni warily. The moment the liquid touched Hiruko’s wood, Sasori felt strength well up inside him. Although it does little for the exhaustion, he feels like he’s able to fight more. 

“Oni Magic,” Shuten replies flippantly, “but we only have a moment to rest, it won’t be long till the kitten attempts to attack again.”

“What do you suggest?” Sasori asks, frowning. 

“We attack with our Noble Phantasms,” Shuten replies, “I’ll go first to weaken it– and you go after, how does that sound?”

“Why not both at once?” Sasori asks, “a pincer attack, perhaps.” 

Shuten’s brow raises, “What kind is yours?”

Sasori hesitates for a moment, thinking back to his discussions with Merlin that he vaguely remembers. 

“It’s an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm,” Sasori replies moment later, confidence heard in his tone. “It’ll be a puppet performance you’ve never seen before.” 

“Interesting,” Shuten grins, its lined with sharp teeth. “Mine is Anti-Army, I’m aware yours may need some time to charge up for. I can cover for you, hmm?”

“Go then, don’t keep me waiting.” Sasori grumbles, glances over to the enemy whose shaken off the sake and slowly turning toward them.

“So bossy~ fine though.” Shuten giggles and jumps in front of Sasori, letting out a sigh. He watches as mana flickers around her, 

“... _Ohhh_ , what a pain, why don’t I melt you all at once?.” Shuten begins her chant, the sky begins to darken. She shifts her sake from side to side before allowing for the liquid to flow and splash onto the rugged terrain, it grows in volume at a fast pace, turning into a wave. “ Multicolored Poison – Shinpen Ko Doku. From the tips of the nails, slowly…. Slowly…” 

When the waves of poison lash against the Ugallu, Sasori urges Hiruko’s body forward the moment the waves of sake dissipate. He watches how the creatures stumbles about in a daze, and takes note of purple liquid clinging to its fur. He lands on the opposite of Shuten, behind the creature and begins setting up for his own.

Inhaling sharply, Sasori begins to chant– he unlatches Hiruko’s mouth and the jaw hangs open, revealing multiple chakra strings. 

“Feast your eyes on a performance of a lifetime, a feat that demolished a country and the last you’ll see before you erode away.” Sasori chants with a smirk, the chakra strings from Hiruko’ mouth scatter into the sky, and attach themselves to puppets summoned with a plume of smoke. They rise above the pathetic creature, looming ominously, “Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets.” 

With a flex of his hands, his puppets swarm over the beast, carving and slicing through its flesh. One of his puppets with the Sharingan suspends it into the air, while the others join in a barrage. When the puppet releases the genjutsu, the beast plummets to the ground and Sasori flexes his fingers inside Hiruko and raises his left arm and shoots the torpedo launcher at it– it breaks open and unleashes a barrage of senbon coated in poison. 

The beast hits the ground with an unsettling crack, its form shimmering away in a dark cloud and it’s like it never was even there. Sasori’s puppets disappear one by one, until the sky can be seen. Exhaustion takes ahold of Sasori and he falters, stumbling, but he doesn’t fall. He watches his companion approach him with a wide smile.

“A bit overkill, hmm?” Shuten asks, with a brow raised. “But quite the performance indeed, fufu. I think I’ll enjoy being around you.” 

“Hmph.” 

Their hyper realistic surrounding bleeds away into nothingness, replacing it with a blue room with multiple lights. Shuten leads Sasori out the door where their Master and the others await them. 

Ritsuka appears starry eyed, grinning from ear to ear, while Mashu’s expression is a mixture of contemplation and a feeling he can’t quite read. 

“That was awesome you guys!” Ritsuka cheers, “ I could barely peel myself away from the screen!” 

“You really _were_ a puppet underneath.” Tesla comments, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. “We can help with the repairs–” 

“I can do it myself,” Sasori cuts in bluntly.

Shuten laughs, hiding her grin behind her kimono sleeve. 

“And we can supply materials, with whatever you need.” Edison cuts in, “we help our allies here–” His beady eyes glare at Tesla briefly, “most of them.”

“Anyway,” Shuten coughs into her sleeve, glancing to Ritsuka, “who won?”

“Huh? Oh! Right, right!” Ritsuka then glances to the computer monitor, there’s a grid there with their names. “Here we go!”

On the screen it listed the amount of kills, ranked by the monsters they fought. They appeared to be even– except for the last row, because Sasori technically defeated the last beast. 

“Awh boo,” Shuten pouted, “and here I thought I could get to play around with Sasori-san. I was going to make him drink with me.”

Ritsuka and Mashu appeared to visibly relax at the revelation, but Sasori remained quiet now that the fighting was over. 

“And here I thought you wanted to v–” A new voice cuts in, and all heads whip toward them.

“How boorish, Hyde-kun,” Shuten admonishes with a frown, then sighs. “Your mind is always in the gutter.” 

Sasori watches the previously unconscious man stand, he watches in mild fascination how the man’s eyes glow red behind the rimmed glasses. The man huffs, crossing his arms over his chest and leers over.

“Then? What the hell ya gonna have her do?” Hyde questions, “the deal, mate? Otherwise I can use that myself!”

Sasori stares, he hadn’t considered what he’d do.

“Train again.” Sasori affirmed after a few minutes. “And possibly study the poison you used.”

“That’s two requests, sweetie.” Shuten teased. “But I’ll consider, fufu, I shall be on my way then.” 

Shuten leaves the room with a small spring in her step, cheerful.

Hyde looks at him from a sidelong glance, shaking his head. “What a waste of a request.”

Hyde leaves next, with his shoulders hunched over, grumbling. After he’s gone, Ritsuka turns to him, with a frown.

“You should go rest up at the infirmary,” Ritsuka decides for him, “We can take you there, since you got hurt; Nightingale will fix you up in no time!”

Sasori vaguely recalls the name and dismisses it, and he concedes with thinking. Ritsuka and Mashu usher him along through the door, he misses Edison and Tesla wave him farewell.

* * *

Being healed by Florence Nightingale at first was the least of his worries, except, he didn’t expect her to threaten to break apart his puppet body. After a tense exchange of holding the nurse back– which consisted of a man named Beowulf, a woman named Scáthach, and a brat named Mordred, she conceded with a huff and administered healing onto his exhausted body. 

When lumbering out of the infirmary, he falls into pace with someone familiar and cranes Hiruko’s head to look.

Merlin waves at him, smiling from ear to ear. Sasori wants to gun it back to his room. 

“Fun first day?” Merlin asks. 

A beat of silence.

“Exhausting, there’s too many people here.” Sasori said, now fumbling with the key in his hand. “I hadn’t expected to be affected this much either.” 

Merlin chuckles, with a grin. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it, I heard about your tag team battle?”

“It was…. interesting.” Sasori concedes, as they turned down the hallway toward where the Servant dormitories were. “I’ll have to rethink my methods while here.” 

Merlin hums with a nod, “And, what do you think of the Master?”

“Her? Hm, I’ll get back to you about that.” Sasori replied dismissively, “she’s a strange one, and still annoying.” 

Gradually, Sasori slowed Hiruko’s gait to a stop, and placed the key through the compartment in the right hand. It deposited and the puppet hand griped the key and he hands it to Merlin who blankly looked at him. 

“What?” Merlin blinked.

“Open the door for me.” Sasori demanded. “It’s far too tall for Hiruko to reach, and I don’t want to break down the door.”

Realization dawned on Merlin, lips curved into a _o_ and he chuckled. He takes the key and unlocks the door and turns on the light. Inside, the bedroom appeared ordinary– containing a desk and a bed already fixed up; the mage stepped back into the hall.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” Merlin said, “I’m sure you’re exhausted from today.”

“How considerate, I didn’t think you had it in you, Merlin.” Sasori quipped, ushering Hiruko’s bulking body through the door and swerved around to close the door. “Goodbye.”

Merlin simply nodded and waved farewell. 

With Merlin gone, Sasori closed the door with a flick of Hiruko’s tail and allowed himself to sag in the corner. He inhaled, then let out a deep sigh. 

It was unlike him to think irrationally and by emotions, the latter he thought he killed long ago. For the longest time, Sasori’s end goal was to become eternal art– which led to his conclusion to become a human puppet. However, a lot had changed since then, he already laid his bitter feelings to rest and came to terms with them. 

The biggest shift was when he was pulled into Avalon, he started to feel unlike himself, unlike a puppet with no emotions. An unnamed emotion began to bubble through, making him feel restless. Sasori was the master of controlling his emotions, but the short time here made the cogwheels in his brain shift into another direction, prompting him to go against his former ideals.

For the first time since his grandmother lied about his parents’ fate, uncertainty bubbled inside him, and made an ugly twist. 

_Well_ , Sasori thought, disabling his chakra strings, causing Hiruko's head to droop. _We’ll figure something out._

Sasori’s consciousness began to slip, gradually lulled into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, we'll finally see other nart characters! dun dun! 
> 
> Other then that, I'll probably include a Servant Sheet for his stats. 
> 
> My pacing probably will change next chapter, since I wanted to introduce and incorporate him into FGO! 
> 
> Additionally, he likely make good friends / acquaintances with other artistic servants (or fight them on art like a art snob ) . I hope I did good with writing the fight scene o7 I'll likely also be using the english terms for the ninja arts / from NA FGO's translation for noble phantasms in the future. till next time!


	4. Worth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasori attempts to bribe Da Vinci, they come to an agreement. He goes on his first supply run, observing the Master from a distance and debates with Moriarty about her. Sasori also reunites with Konan, the first of the Akatsuki to arrive and reevaluates his opinion about Ritsuka. 
> 
> Or, Sasori's bond level has raised! He's come to understand the girl a little better.

During his first week at Chaldea, Sasori accomplishes two things: acquiring a work bench for his assigned quarters and gathering tools for maintaining puppets. In the beginning of the week Sasori begrudgingly visited Da Vinci at her workshop, who graciously exchanged the intel at a price.

“Oh, you could find those materials in the Engineering department.” Da Vinci explained, placing a manuscript down. She turns around in her chair, leaning forward. “You’ll have to see if there are any available– all of the engineers are a little touchy feely over borrowing.”

“I see.” Sasori frowns, but he understands– they were understaffed. He’s annoyed he can’t get what he wanted though.

“But!” Da Vinci stands, hands on her hips, a wide smile spreads across her lips. “If you let me inspect your body and its mechanics from time to time, I’ll go check if there are any leftover toolboxes.”

Sasori stares and doesn’t say a word, contemplating his answer.

“I happened to watch the footage from your previous training session.” Da Vinci continues, now sitting back down. “Like I suspected, I’m under the assumption this isn’t your real body. Are you actually controlling it from the inside? You must have put a lot of thought into the design of your puppet!”

Sasori doesn’t confirm nor deny her speculations, he suspects nothing will escape the head director’s notice. From the information granted to him, Da Vinci is a genius; an artist who delved into the sciences and explored the intricacies of the universe. As a fellow inventor and artist, Sasori respects Da Vinci– but he wouldn’t tell her that. 

“Isn’t the footage enough?” Sasori deflects with disinterest. “I’d hate for others to find out my methods.”

Da Vinci looks blankly at him for a moment, but she bursts into laughter. “But you already did? You agreed to the simulation battle, which means you have witnesses, Sasori!” 

Sasori grimaces, annoyed that he played himself. 

“Fine.” Sasori concedes with a sigh. 

Sasori watches Da Vinci gleefully spring up from her chair, edging closer to Hiruko’s body, and goes to remove the cloak off the puppet. With deft fingers, she neatly folds the cloak on her work table and leans in close to inspect his handiwork. It was refreshing to have someone share a genuine interest in his art.

At the same time, the door to Da Vinci’s workshop swings open and Sasori didn’t care enough to turn. Someone lets out an airy gasp, making Sasori close his eyes.

“Da Vinci! You can’t just force Sasori to do tha–” Mashu protests, shuffling over. 

The genius leans back, smiling innocently. “Oh, but Sasori gave me his explicit permission!”

“Are you sure about that?” Sasori hears Ritsuka question, her voice laced with worry. Ritsuka follows behind Mashu and pops into view. “When something captures her attention, she won’t stop till she dissects everything.”

“Such is the life of a scientist!” Da Vinci proclaims with a grin, “as fellow inventors, we both strive for knowledge. Anyway– Sasori, I noticed something peculiar, not all of this is made of wood, right?”

“Mm. It’s not– you can say it’s part of my brand,” Sasori supplies smugly, “Hiruko– _this puppet_ , is a human puppet.” 

“Human–” Mashu looks startled.

“Puppet–!?” Ritsuka exclaimed. “Wait, what does that mean?” 

“It means,” Sasori rumbles listlessly, “I crafted this puppet out of a human body after killing them.” 

Watching the color drain from Mashu and Ritsuka’s faces amused the puppeteer. Not everyone could understand his art, and that was fine with him. He watched Ritsuka’s expression shift from bewilderment to one of neutrality. Her eyes flickering about, soaking in Hiruko’s body; to his surprise her eyes aren’t filled with fear instead with intrigue.

“Amazing.” Ritsuka breathes out, she drops to her knees and looks to the finely made shell. 

“Most would be disgusted by now.” Sasori remarks, then turns back to Da Vinci. “Anyway, is this enough time today for compensation Da Vinci?” 

“Yes, of course,” Da Vinci nods, “I’ll add in a workbench too, since you cooperated with me~!”

After Mashu and Ritsuka assisted in putting back on his cloak, Sasori took a silent leave, allowing the door close behind him. He took his time afterwards to become more familiar with the facilities and shortly returned to his room.

At the end of the week, someone knocked at his door. Lazily with a wave of his hand, Hiruko’s tail flicked to the other side of the room and wrapped around the handle and pulled it open. He brought the puppet to the door frame, peering through the slit.

“What do you want?” Sasori grumbled.

“Delivery, we brought ya some things from Da Vinci.” A man’s voice rumbled outside. Upon closer inspection, it was Beowulf, the man from the infirmary.

“ _We_?” Sasori opened the door more, and saw a red headed young man by his side. He carried a toolbox in one hand.

“Y-yes, hello Sasori-san,” The young man greets with his free hand, “Um, my name is Fuuma Kotaro, Assassin Class.”

“Yeah, we met before, but I’m Beowulf, Berserker Class.” Beowulf reintroduces, “And I’ve got ya workbench and a chair to go with it.” 

Sasori moves Hiruko away allowing them entrance to his quarters. The Berserker set the workbench down, and placed the desk chair down next. 

“Ya know where ya want this?” Beowulf asked over his shoulder. 

“Against that wall,” Sasori commanded, pointing to the wall opposite of his bed with Hiruko’s tail. His gaze flitted to the red head, observing him quietly from his peripheral.

Once the workbench was set, Kotaro placed the toolbox against the wall near it. The boy turned back toward him, gaze unreadable because of his bangs. 

“Um, it’ll be a pleasure working with you.” Kotaro quietly said, bowing his head. 

Sasori doesn’t say a word, watching the duo begin to leave. Beowulf waves farewell, while Kotaro is at his heels, and the shinobi shuts the door behind him, leaving Sasori alone. 

**Bond Level One Achieved!**

* * *

In a fluid motion, Hiruko’s tail deflects the bullets away from Ritsuka. 

“Pathetic,” Sasori spits out, while observing the enemy who moves mechanically in a straight line. “They’re just asking to be slaughtered.”

“Thanks Sasori!” Ritsuka grins, hand patting Hiruko’s back in praise like it’s a goddamn dog. “You’re a lifesaver!”

The puppeteer snorts, waves his hand and the tail crashes into the Hornets. Wordlessly he observes his allies work in synchronization. Hektor swooped in, skewering them with his lance. Medusa used Hiruko’s tail like a springboard to gain height and slammed into the back row of enemies. From nearby, Moriarty fired bullets from his cane, giving Bedivere a window of opportunity to duck and pierce through their uniforms.

It’s been over two and a half weeks since he’s arrived at Chaldea. After the first, Sasori wormed his way into conversations with the staff and learnt of the rotating schedule for supply runs. Although they aren’t as frequent now because of current circumstances, they still needed to feed their staff and train newer Servants like him. There was still the looming threat of the rogue Demon Pillars, so everyone had to remain vigilant.

Sasori observes his teammates do quick work for the rest of the horde. Every now and then, he flicks bullets away from Ritsuka or Tamamo no Mae who lingers nearby to support, armed with her talisman and magic.

When a straggler Hornet throws a grenade at Bedivere, Sasori flicks his left wrist and wraps Hiruko’s tail around the knight, pulling him back before it explodes. Once lowered back to the ground, the blond glances over and gives him a small smile.

“Thank you for the assistance.” Bedivere dips his head in a brief bow, before running off again.

Sasori scowls, because the knight’s appreciation disgusts him. The sentimentality reminds him of Konoha and Haruno Sakura who managed to change his mind briefly. He buries his bitterness of change; he’s thankful Hiruko’s able to hide his irritability.

When the dust settles and their foes are eliminated, Mashu congratulates their team on a job well done over the communicator. Their group comes together, and she lists off the current items they need- Claws of Chaos, Infinity Gears, and _whole_ lot of Spinal Fluid.

“So the reason why we’re here.” Sasori begins flatly, he squints at the old man with greyed hair. “....Is because of the old man’s back problems; that makes him a liability.”

“Excuse _you_!” Moriarty yells, he childishly huffs. “I’m only a fifty something man, it’s not my fault I was summoned like this!”

Sasori internally groans, wondering how this man _ruled_ this city. It was similar to Tobi– or, the facade Uchiha Obito apparently used.

“Come on, settle down kids.” Hektor admonishes with a sigh, exasperated. Clearly he included Moriarty too. 

“ _Gramps_ ,” Ritsuka calls with a look of understanding, but she’s hiding a smile. “we _know_ your back pain is serious, that’s why we’re gathering enough medicine to help it! It’s okay to be embarrassed!”

Moriarty’s shoulders slump, dejectedly. Age appeared to be a sore subject for him.

“That’s not even what it’s for.” Tamamo mutters, rolling her eyes while Moriarty looks accusingly at Sasori.

“We ought to gather some Void Dust too.” Bedivere adds, straightening his back.

“Agreed. We ought to move out before more Hornets arrive.” Medusa concurred, already walking to the exit. “Let’s get moving.”

Sasori drowns out the rest of the conversation, taking his spot at the rear of their formation as they proceed ahead. Ritsuka sticks close to him, and he watches Shinjuku’s neon lights flicker across her face. It’s a sharp contrast from before– warm and bubbly, now it’s stone cold, expressionless- like a puppet. And it confuses him, because she was full of life beforehand. 

When they finish acquiring fifty of those tiny vials, the rest of their group relaxes, engaging in conversation until they’re extracted. Sasori positioned himself away at a distance, he quietly watches Ritsuka’s gaze flit to account for everyone, watching her lips wordlessly counting.

“You’ve seen it too, hm?” Moriarty inquires coolly, slipping beside him.

“Seen what?” Sasori huffed, annoyed. “ _What,_ is this about that little girl?”

“Now son, would telling you be any fun?” Moriarty snickered. Damn old man.

“Hm.” Sasori hums in contemplation. “She’s not anyone impressive, if you’re trying to get me to compliment her.”

The Archer raises a brow, leaning against his coffin. “You’ve met more impressive people?”

“Yes.” Sasori replies immediately, and he thinks back to Konan, who dragged him to the Akatsuki and to Haruno Sakura who kicked his ass. “She’s just a little girl who gets a lot of help without moving a finger.”

Moriarty chuckles, smirking to himself like he knows something Sasori doesn’t. When they’re starting to be rayshift back to Chaldea, he watches Ritsuka’s expression become blank and their eyes meet briefly. Sasori looks away.

**Bond Level Two Achieved!**

* * *

It’s almost been a month since he’s arrived, and Sasori has fallen into routine. He observes his allies, absentmindedly wonders which Servants could become a neat human puppet. Afterwards, he goes to bother the Engineering department and sneaks into their labs to sneak a peek at their blueprints and escapes off to the library to hoards books and studies anything he can get his hands on about poisons and puppetry. When he’s all finished, Sasori goes to visit Da Vinci immediately afterwards for his biweekly meetings where they talk about anatomy and puppet craftsmanship.

Around his third week, Medea- a Caster, jumped into his life and inquired about his puppets too. They talked to him about familiars and magical theory that went over his head and he leads it back into craftsmanship, treading into his techniques for humans puppets.

Medea herself creates things on whim too, some being dolls and it prompts some intrigue. She invites him to visit her workshop sometime, which he agrees to. 

When their conversation comes to an end, the doors fly open and Ritsuka stands there with her hands on her hips.

“Sasori! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” Ritsuka exclaims, and saunters over.

“I’m busy, make it quick.” Sasori dismisses, with a grumble.

Ritsuka sighs dramatically and rolls her eyes. She unveils a bag he hadn’t noticed before and jingles it ominously in front of him.

“We collected the necessary materials to help you regain your power!” Ritsuka announces with a grin, “I wanna see what you look like!”

“It’s nothing special.” Sasori deadpans, but he’s interested. “What do I have to do?”

Ritsuka trudges over to Da Vinci with the materials and hands them over. The Caster grins, and gestures for him to come closer.

Sasori obliged, with a flex of his hand and Hiruko’s body moves. Da Vinci moves out of the way and directs him near a monitor with a platform and he climbs atop it. The puppeteer watches Da Vinci slip several identical statues out of it and place them into a panel between the screen.

The platform begins to hum around him and Sasori feels energy creep into his system. He listens to Hiruko’s body groan, and he’s blinded for only a minute. When the light fades, he realizes the normal darkness he got acquainted with again is gone.

Silence lapses around them and he stares at all of them.

Da Vinci appears amused, Medea’s expression scrunches up in annoyance while Ritsuka doesn’t hide her bafflement well. 

Glancing down, he blinks when he sees his old chunin vest. He feels behind him, and there are three scrolls on his belt instead of two like he remembered.

“I lost the bet!” Medea laments and she hangs her head, shamefully. 

“Bet?” Sasori echoes flatly, his tone barely above a whisper, he narrows his eyes. 

“On your appearance, your age and height.” Medea confesses and sighs deeply. “I can’t believe this- I thought you’d be older and taller.”

“I’ve never grown past this height.” Sasori confesses and steps down closer to Ritsuka. “What, have you not met short men before?”

Ritsuka opens her mouth, then closes it. Sasori blinks, scowls and then dismisses the statement.

“Besides Anderson, who's literally a brat.” Sasori groans.

“I didn’t expect you to look so young!” Ritsuka exclaims, she grins mischievously. “Hey! Since we both have red hair we could be mistaken for being siblings!”

Sasori rolls his eyes, watching Ritsuka giggle to herself.

“Brat, your hair color is far more orange than mine.” Sasori states, lips spread in thin line. “It doesn’t count.”

“Pshhhh. Details, details, we could be cousins then!” Ritsuka rolls her eyes, giving him a dismissive wave. She doesn’t know when to back down, and continues to babble. “And...we’re also the same height too! How old are you in this form?” 

“Fifteen, because I defected in these clothes.” Sasori replies with a shrug. “I’m thirty five, however.”

“So you’re an man child.” Ritsuka snickers. 

Sasori deeply sighs, running a hand over his face. He really wished Deidara was here, he’d take his annoying partner over being teased. 

“Looks like we have another baby faced genius on our hands.” Da Vinci remarks with a chuckle.

Sasori glares at them with as much killing intent he can muster but it goes over their heads. 

“Now that’s over, come on Sasori! Accompany me to the summoning room!” Ritsuka forcibly takes his hand, and leads him outside into the hallway.

“Do I have to come with you to summon again?” Sasori asks, sounding uninterested. The last time he was there was when he arrived.

“Yup! I wanted to try my luck again, because if I help ascend someone’s abilities, there’s a larger probability of getting someone other than mapo tofu or something!” Ritsuka explains and they swerve around the corridor.

It isn’t long till they enter a familiar room, and Sasori notices Mashu’s there along with Helena and Kotaro. He recognizes the Saint Quartz placed in a box, they’re left on a table nearby.

“You’re right on time Senpai!” Mashu greets, but blinks upon seeing him. “Whose-“

“It’s me.” Sasori greets cooly, then clears his throat. “Sasori.”

“So you _weren’t_ a puppet?” Helena questioned, with a raised brow. She deeply sighs and snaps her fingers. “Looks like I lost the bet too.”

Did all of the Casters make a bet on him? How _annoying._ Sasori rolls his eyes and glances over to the faintly glowing platform. He vaguely recalls stepping off of that earlier in the month.

Kotaro straightens and nods to him in greeting, then glances to Ritsuka. “Ready, Master?”

Ritsuka grins, taking the box with Saint Quartz and the Summoning Chamber roars to life. With a steady hand, she takes a handful and chucks the gems into the light. He watches the light swirl, a myriad of useless junk pops out, there’s mapo tofu, unfortunate, black keys, some weird dolls– 

The puppeteer sucks in his breath when colors of the rainbow spring to life and overwhelms the room. When it dies down, a figure appears in a familiar black trench coat with red clouds.

Sasori’s expression shifts from disinterest, his lips curving into a smirk. Just his luck. 

Konan stands straight, taking in the scene quietly. Their eyes meet and Sasori watches the Ame nin’s sparkle in recognition, but she doesn’t say anything. After a moment, Konan stares at Ritsuka, expression unreadable.

“Archer Class.” Konan introduces slowly, her brows knit together, troubled. Sasori pondered if she was brought here purposely too.“ I am Konan of Amekagure— the Angel who oversees all.”

Sasori snorts, because _really_ \- the Archer class was filled with Archers. 

“Welcome to Chaldea, Konan! I’m Fujimaru Ritsuka, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Ritsuka grins, and boldly takes ahold of her hand. 

Konan bristles a bit, but then relaxes. The two shake hands and the Ame nin turns away to look directly at Sasori.

“Sasori.” Konan acknowledges with a tilt of her head. “You look young again, no longer a puppet?”

The puppeteer scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You look the same as ever, Konan.”

There’s a flicker of amusement in her eyes, she smirks. “So it seems.”

“Um,” Helena blinks at the banter, glancing between them. “You know one another?”

“Yes.” Konan nods, slipping back into her neutral mask. “We were in the same organization, I recruited him.”

“Organization?” Mashu blinks, “how did you recruit him?”

“I invited him, he refused, so I was determined to bring him kicking and screaming.” Konan explained, amusement creeps into her expression. “ He wanted to turn me into a human puppet, so we fought. But he lost, and like a gentleman came willingly.”

Sasori groans at the memory, it wasn’t his proudest moment. It frustrated him how her paper was able to evade the Third Kazekaze’s Iron Sand. Even after his recruitment, she didn’t bother explaining her jutsu to him. 

“He was also wearing that exact outfit too.” Konan adds, with a fond sigh. “brings back memories.”

Kotaro looks surprised and glances between them, then back at Konan. “You’re a kunoichi, like Sasori-san?”

“Yes. Are you a shinobi?” Konan confirmed, she blinks. 

“Yes, I-I am, Konan-san.” Kotaro replies with a nod, “Assassin Class, Fuuma Kotaro.”

Konan’s brows knit together, expression thoughtful. “Fuuma, hm?

“This Fuuma isn’t related to our history.” Sasori interjects, earning him a few stares. “Nor are we a part of theirs.”

“I suspected as much.” Konan nods in understanding. 

Helena opened her mouth to speak, but she’s cut off by an emergency alarm. A holographic image springs to life, showing Da Vinci.

“Oh, hey Ritsuka, sorry to ruin your fun, but can you head to the Control Room?” Da Vinci sounds apologetic. “We’ve been bre–– bzzzzt.” 

The screen fizzes out, replacing Da Vinci with another girl with purple hair and a ribbon.

“Helloooo? Is everything in order– ah! There you are _senpaiiiii!”_ The girl cooes at Ritsuka, who blinks in surprise.

During the chaos, Konan approaches Sasori after the others run out to the control room. 

“You died.” Sasori bluntly observed.

“I did. There isn’t much I remember after being tricked by Madara.” Konan confessed, lowering her gaze.

“Madara wasn’t his actual name.” Sasori corrects her, with a shrug. “He was going by an alias, he was actually a brat named Uchiha Obito who was a former teammate of Copy Nin Kakashi.”

Konan’s brow raises, surprised. “I wasn’t aware.”

Sasori retains his look of disinterest, but her lack of knowledge catches him off guard. 

“And I have no idea why I’m here. I’m assuming this isn't Pure land- how long have you been here?” Konan questioned, her brows knit in frustration. Sasori wasn’t used to her showing any ounce of emotion around him- it was like a Akatsuki trait, if you didn’t count Hidan and Deidara.

“A month. Sasori says, which startles Konan. “I was brought here similarly, but I had a proxy.”

“Proxy?” Konan leans forward, her frown deepening. “Explain.”

“You didn’t happen to meet an annoying man dressed in white, did you?” Sasori asks, he clicks his tongue when she shakes her head. “Well I did, my soul was pulled from my journey toward the Pure Land and I ended up in this place called Avalon....I met a mage named Merlin- who foresaw my arrival- and he admitted my purpose was to save our world’s destruction from an attack from his world.”

 _You were still an important figure who caused major events._ Merlin’s words echo in the back of his head. It annoys him, terribly still– he could’ve gone off and reincarnated and forgot about any responsibilities, but _no._

“Ah.” Konan looks up, her frustration bleeds away, it’s replaced with a thoughtful look. “If that’s the case, then by association, you being here connected our world to this one. You’re the sole anchor, which leads me to assume it’ll allow the souls from home to become summonable.”

“A fine hypothesis.” Sasori replies, but it comes off as sarcastic.

“Which means it’s possible for our.... colleagues to join us.” Konan finishes quietly.

“Oh hell no.” Sasori hisses, disgusted by the mere idea. He didn’t want to associate with them any longer. 

“Anyway, you received memories from Merlin- I did not. I believe due to _where_ we were transported from, led to the differences.” Konan observed, “in that case, if we’re to bring peace to our world- then I shall work with you to achieve that dream.”

“How selfless of you, I thought you had little regard for others.” Sasori quipped, with a sneer.

“Our dreams always aligned with world peace.” Konan replied politely, “we lost our way, but Uzamaki Naruto persuaded us back to the right path.”

Sasori doesn’t say anything. His own ambitions aligned with his own selfishness- it’s something that didn’t change. Konan and Pein’s ideals were far more broad, and he never cared enough about them. However, he’s able to understand it a little better after doing all that thinking in Merlin’s tower.

“Then you’ll fit in well here.” Sasori mutters, then waves her along. “Come, I’ll show you around.”

“How kind of you.” Konan smirks, watching his face fall. “Lead the way, Sasori.”

* * *

There’s a weird sense of deja vu when Sasori’s accompanied by Konan back to the Summoning Chamber. He had shown her around the facilities, they got lost in the library section for a while. A part of him was annoyed, because it felt like they had gone into a complete circle. And he didn’t remember why.

The moment the door opens, he sees their Master, who gasps. 

“Sasoooooori.” Ritsuka attempts to cling onto him like a child, eyes pleading.. “You remember _don’t_ you?”

Sasori pushes her away, impassively but he’s internally confused. “Remember what?”

“The Singularity!” Ritsuka exclaims, she’s pouting. “Chaldea’s security was breached and—“

“What?” Sasori cuts her off, looks at Ritsuka hard with exasperation. “Brat, the last major one you dealt with was from months ago in Agartha before my arrival. Are you going senile?”

Ritsuka’s gapping at him like a fish, her shoulders slump and she begins to sulk.

“No one remembers!” Ritsuka whines, then scratches her head furiously. “ _Argh_! What the hell- get out of my way, I gotta find BB!”

Ritsuka brushes past him, running down the hall. Inside the Summoning Room, Sasori sees a few unfamiliar faces. Something entrances him and he closes the distance. Konan moves in sync with him and they approach the newcomers.

“Sorry about that.” Mashu apologizes to the newcomers. “I don’t know what overcame Senpai to reduce her into tears.”

Helena and Kotaro exchange equally concerned glances. The new arrivals are similar in appearance, but had major differences with their appendages that makes Sasori’s mind start reeling. Their limbs were crafted like his puppets, gigantic prosthetics– but they weren’t perfect like his handiwork.

“H-hopefully she’ll be okay later?” The girl with the massive arms asks. “M-maybe we should go ap-apologize to her Melt?”

The girl, Melt, crosses her sleeves over her chest, rolling her eyes. “We have nothing to apologize for, Lip. It’ll only be a pain to deal with.”

Lip heavily sighs, pouting. “You should be a little nicer, Melt- she seemed really worried about you.”

Melt doesn’t say a word, instead glancing over to Sasori and Konan. Her brow raises and she stalks forward, looming over him.

“It’s rude to stare, boy.” Melt chides, “do you have a problem?”

“Quite the opposite, I-“ Before Sasori can finish his sentence, Konan grips down on his shoulder tightly. Despite her calm expression, her eyes tell a different story. Despite how brief their meetings were, Konan seemed to have an inkling of how horribly this may go and prevented a murder. 

“You’re just asking to be killed.” Konan flatly reprimanded, then she turns back to Melt and shakes her head. “We were curious of what caused the Master great distress. Who are you?”

“Hah. Bold words from a human.” Melt remarked, “I am Meltllith, the Alter Ego of Pleasure.”

Sasori’s brows furrowed, causing him to frown. Mashu shoots him a understanding look.

“Um, we’ll fill you in once we have all the details.” Mashu reassures. 

“U-um, I’m Passionlip, the Alter Ego of Love and Hate.” Lip shyly introduces from behind. “Our class is um, the Alter Ego one— it hasn’t been added to Chaldea’s data base yet. I believe Mother is also-“

“Mother?” Konan looks caught off guard.

“Lip means _BB_.” Melt replies with a shrug, “She isn’t in the system either. But she's in the Moon Cancer class.”

This is what Merlin meant about other classes beside the standard. Although hearing Moon Cancer made Sasori twitch. By default, he associated the moon with Kaguya and the remnants of her clan. 

“Assassin Class, Sasori of the Red Sand.” Sasori introduced flippantly.

“Archer Class, Konan of Amekagure.” Konan waved and bowed her head. “It’ll be a pleasure to work with the both of you.” 

Meltlilth huffs and brushes past them, while Passionlip saunters after the other and flashes them an apologetic smile and leaves in tow. Mashu looked toward Konan and gestured for her to follow so she could get her situated, while Kotaro and Helena sometime before.

Sasori left afterwards, and returned back to his own quarters. A few days later, he happened to go to the archives. Inside, there was a screen where anyone could look at past battle footage. Most of the recordings were from the past singularities, both major and minor– and newer Servants could look them over for reference to help future battle strategies.

Upon entering, Sasori watches a familiar looking girl place down a CD case labelled _CCC_. When she looks over, there’s a nagging feeling that he’s seen her before. 

“Ah! Sasori-kun! What a pleasant surprise!” The familiar stranger greets, but Sasori can tell it’s fake enthusiasm. “Grumpy today too, I see? Hmmmm?”

“What are you doing?” Sasori crosses his arms over his chest. She looks a lot like Meltlilith and Passionlip and that other Lancer– Pavarti, for some reason. His eyes narrow to the case in her hands. “New archival footage?”

“Heheh! Yuuup, considering Chaldea wouldn’t have it, I did the honors of recording it myself!” The girl giggles, she’s all smiles, but something dark lurks underneath. “Is the dimension traveler curious about the mess from a few days ago?”

Sasori’s widen marginally. “You–” 

“O~f course I know! I wouldn’t be a high class AI for nothing, y’know?” For a moment she looks hurt, but she bounces back and her energy _drains him_ . “We technically met when it happened, but I guess things got weird _here_. Time moves differently up on the moon.”

 _Moon_. Sasori recalls what Meltlilth informed them from a few days ago. 

“BB, I assume.” Sasori observed, his expression becomes neutral, eying her warily. 

“Yup! That’s me!” BB giggles, then pulls up a chair for him to sir. “And you sir have a lot of explaining to do too! Technically you aren’t even supposed to be here, you aren’t even someone from _this_ Earth’s history.”

“It won’t be relevant until later.” Sasori dodges the accusation with grace, he tilts his head toward her, watching her owlishly. “Your reason for the theatrics?”

BB pouts at him, crossing her arms across her chest. “Rogue Demon Pillar, and don’t worry, I already informed Da Vinci! She wouldn’t let me go till I explained things in full!” The AI tilts her head toward him, leaning on the chair. “Worried for Senpai, Mr. Puppet?”

Sasori scoffs, because really he just wanted information. “ _No_.”

“You’re such a liar, then why come to the Archives in the first place?” BB waggles a finger at him, “I’m a former Health Administrator who overlooked the Masters' health during a Grail War. I can recognize concern even from the most _deadbeat_ and stoic individuals.” 

The puppeteer shoots the AI a nasty scowl, causing for the latter to sigh dramatically. BB begins to walk away with a shrug, leaving him alone. The moment Sasori sits down, going to pop in the CD, he hears the annoying AI’s voice again.

“Even if you don’t care, it’d be nice to give Senpai some reassurance– she’s been shouldering a lot since the beginning.” BB says over her shoulder, then closes the door, leaving Sasori alone with the footage on the Moon Cell. 

Sasori sits back, sighs and watches the monitor blink to life. He watches the recording from BB’s perspective, and sees him and Konan in the room from a few days ago and frowns. The puppeteer lets the video roll, allowing the sound to fill the silence. 

While watching, he watches Ritsuka’s decisions, along with her actions during the course of her journey. When the others aren’t looking, and she’s left alone in the Church, she curls into herself. 

“ _I have to be strong, I cannot be weak, I cannot mess up again– they’re depending on me. I already failed, I gotta make sure everyone survives.”_ Ritsuka’s voice chants, it’s akin to a mantra, her expression is blank, but her shaking limbs betray her. “ _When we’re back, I’ll study more magic again, do strength training, be more expandable. I cannot give up– I can’t afford to be a coward again.”_

Ritsuka on the screen slaps her face, her cheeks red, and shakes her head. She goes under the covers and attempts to sleep. 

_How pathetic._ Sasori’s brow furrows. Perhaps his previous assessment of her was wrong, like he was wrong about Haruno. She gets back up, despite the odds, especially when the footage reveals the real villain behind the event. Kiara is terrifying and he doubts he’d be able to remain calm under the circumstances.

When the footage ends, something in his chest tightens and he grunts. Sasori removes the disc, placing the footage in between the shelves and leaves.

 _Perhaps I misjudged her worth too quickly,_ Sasori thinks absentmindedly when returning back to his quarters for the night. 

**Bond Level Three Achieved!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of hand waving at the technicalities of how Ascension, Leveling and additional faculties work in Chaldea since they really don't delve too much into it. I won't be delving too much into the EoR chapters and they'll briefly mentioned. Also, for the record you can probably tell how fond I am of Sakura and Konan, the former will be mentioned a lot since Sakura's got character development from their fight. 
> 
> As promised, I'll be including some stats I wrote up for Sasori for a hypothetical Servant sheet! You'll learn a little a more with the rest of the Bond Level Chapters and there'll be more three chapters that'll cover his interactions with the other Servants before we cover the the Naruto/Boruto related aspect of this fic. Thanks for reading!
> 
> –   
> **ASSASSIN ★★★★**  
>  Name: Sasori • サソリ  
> AKA: Akasuna no Sasori • Sasori of the Red Sand • 赤砂のサソリ  
> VA: Takahiro Sakurai (Actual Body) • Yukata Aoyama (Hiruko form)  
> ATK: 1,998/9,643 || DEF: 1,835/9,973  
> Attribute: Earth || Growth Curve: Linear  
> Alignment: Chaotic Evil || Gender: Male  
> Traits: Humanoid, Male, Brynhildr’s Beloved.  
> Cards: QQABB  
> –  
>  **ACTIVE SKILLS**
> 
> Plume of Poison A+ • Showers all enemies with a Poison Demerit, with a chance to stun for one turn and an evade for himself (one turn).  
> Scorpion’s Spite B • Grants Quick Stars, Increases ATK for three turns [After Interlude 1] can inflict poison damage by 500 for 5 turns when attacking for one time.  
> Medical Ninjutsu C+ • Heals one ally by 1,000 > [After Interlude 2] 2000
> 
> PASSIVE SKILLS  
> Presence Concealment A - Increases own star generation rate by 10%  
> Human Puppetry A+ - Increases Quick attack by 12%  
> Poison Knowledge A - Grants Resistance to Poison.  
> -
> 
> Note: He isn't affected by Gil's Enuma Elish due to being from another world and Sasori handmade his puppets.


	5. Only Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between confronting his former ideals, regaining a lost ally, and trading blows with a looming enemy, Sasori goes through some whiplash, as does Ritsuka. They find respect for one another, while going through some growing pains.
> 
> Ritsuka is also cast into Shimousa, leaving Chaldea in a disarray for a bit.

“You haven’t eaten?” Sanson blinks, staring across at him across in a library chair. 

“Not since I’ve been summoned, no.” Sasori glances up briefly from his book, thumbing through the pages to find the section he was looking for.

“Why?” Jekyll frowns at his words. 

Sasori’s been in the library since the early morning, soaking in information from medical books and botany. The other Assassins joined him not too long ago, seeking out books as well. Eating never crossed his mind, not since he stopped functioning as a human. He considered it a pain, like sleeping, because he could be working instead.

“It’s a waste of time.” Sasori dismissed, another page was turned. “I could be doing other things but it halts any work.”

“When did this start?” Jekyll gently inquires.

“When I became eternal art.” Sasori nonchalantly admits, he placed the book onto the wooden table, focusing on them. “I turned myself into a puppet.” 

The other Assassin Servants exchange a silent glance. It made sense why they would be concerned, but it wasn’t necessary. Sasori didn’t understand why they cared either, but he supposed it was due to them being allies. He’s read both of their files too, absorbing any information he could find about them. 

Aside from their battle prowess, Sasori became intrigued due to their practices and interests overlapping. They were also tolerable, only speaking when necessary. Their relationship was entirely business related. At least, that’s what Sasori tries to convince himself, since he doesn’t know how actual friendships work.

“Besides, Servants aren’t required to have basic necessities. We just need mana to continue to supply our form; it’s generated by Chaldea. I took advantage of that fact.” Sasori concluded, tilting his head, staring at him owlishly. “Is there a problem?”

“You became a... human puppet, yes?” Jekyll inquires carefully. Sasori nods wordlessly. “But why-“

“Because he’s a fool, obviously.” A deep voice interrupts.

Behind them, Hans Christian Anderson sits nearby with a writing quill in hand. The writer was notorious for making commentary, no matter the occasion. Sasori blankly stares at him, lips taut In a line.

“You’re human now.” Anderson remarks, twirling his pen. “But you turned yourself into a damn puppet, which is easily breakable.”

“Puppets can be rebuilt, no matter how many times they break.” Sasori appears unbothered by the provocation, he slips a bookmark onto his current page. “Then why were you summoned as a child then?”

“Because I was summoned during my prime in life.” Anderson rolled his eyes. “If you turned yourself into a puppet, you must’ve been god damn miserable with yourself. Did you actually succeed with becoming one?”

“Mr. Anderson.” Jekyll’s voice is firm. “That is enough-“

“No. I didn’t succeed.” Sasori interrupts, he doesn’t elaborate but remains calm despite the tension. He tilts up his chin, looking down at him. “You ask a lot of pointless questions, don’t you?”

“Pointless? Hah. You’re just easy to read is all.” Anderson replies smugly. “Hmm. You must be a reverse of the Tin Man, because you can’t be _Pinocchio_ \- you were already a real boy.”

“Mr. Anderson.” Sanson glares at the writer, annoyance wormed its way onto his face. “Your commentary is unnecessary.”

“How? I’m only trying to assist, this is the most I’ve heard him speak of himself since his arrival.” Anderson snarks, unrelenting. He eyes the puppeteer, leaning in. “...Why did you forsake your humanity?”

“....For me _then_ , the decision was quite simple.” Sasori nonchalantly divulges, he raises from his chair, collecting his books. “Shinobi are _tools_ for our villages, nothing more nor less; circumstances based on my upbringing lead to that.” There’s a beat of pause, when he pushes his chair in. “I hadn’t accounted for what the future held is all. Feel free to theorize why, or read my file.”

The other library chairs began to squeak, and Jekyll and Sanson follow after him when he exits the library. They match his pace while they walk down the hall, leaving the writer alone. 

“Where are you going?” Jekyll asks, concern seen on his face.

“My room.” Sasori intones. 

“No you aren’t.” Sanson stops him, holding onto his shoulder. “You’re coming with us, Sasori.”

“Why should I?” Sasori’s gaze darkens, eyes narrowing at the executioner. “Let me guess, you’re planning to make me eat. Puppets _don’t_ eat.”

“Because...” Sanson begins, he smirks. “If you do not, I’ll inform Miss Nightingale you have not because you’ve fallen ill....”

Sasori stiffens in place. After ascending in power, they required him to get an examination per protocol. Florence Nightingale was a force to be reckoned with, she was like the third coming of Senju Tsunade, the Slug Princess. She nearly broke every bone in his body if not for some of the other Servants around. Sanson also happened to be there that day, so he witnessed his brief instance of fear.

With a deep sigh, Sasori rearranges the books in the crook of his arm. 

“Fine, I’ll eat.” Sasori concedes, already walking ahead. “Don’t keep me waiting then. Do you know what’s being served?”

“They have a little of everything, it’s buffet styled.” Jekyll replies, “I know Mr. Emiya keeps a track record of favorites, however. Have you told him?”

“Ah no.” Sasori shakes his head. He vaguely recalls the Archer. “I haven’t felt the need to eat for twenty years, I've lost any desire to.”

“Well, if you haven’t eaten for that long, you can start with smaller portions.” Sanson suggests, now turning the corner and they had arrived at the cafeteria doors.

As the trio stepped through the threshold, per usual, the cafeteria was bustling with activity. The large crowds made Sasori’s tense brief, prompting a look of concern from Jekyll.

“Are you alright?” Jekyll inquires.

“Fine.” Sasori said through grit teeth, “Where-“

“This way.” Sanson gestured for them to follow and they headed closer to the line nearby. 

Jekyll places a steadying hand onto Sasori’s shoulder, prompting the shortest of their group to relax. The red head shoots him a glare, but the doctor’s completely oblivious. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask.” Sanson glances over, expression blank. “What made you interested in medicine...and human anatomy? I’ve seen you pour over those books in the library for hours.”

“I’ve previously had medic nin training.” Sasori replies, attempting to look over the crowd of people in front of them by standing on his toes. “I wanted to see if there were differences in information between here and back home.”

“So you were trained to be a doctor?” Jekyll asks, blinking.

“Not quite, just the fundamentals.” Sasori sighs and gives up, his sandals flat on the floor again. “Though, I had to further my studies myself due to my village’s incompetency.”

“Since when?” Sanson’s eyes narrow.

“Eight years old.” Sasori offers a crooked smile, prompting the other men to choke. “What? We had wars to win, inflated egos to stroke— it was out of my power.”

“You did what you had to.” Jekyll observes somberly. 

“It made me interested in poisons too, for obvious reasons.” Sasori continues with nonchalance. “The faster killing, the better.” 

“So you killed out of mercy?” Sanson asks. 

“No, hardly. I didn’t want to be held up for any task. I _hate_ waiting.” Sasori snorts, brow raised. “Your method was different, wasn’t it?”

“I... suppose.” Sanson adverts his eyes, he frowns. “My morals were different, I wanted to give them a painless, merciful death. Before the guillotine was made, execution would take hours to perform.”

“If I'm not mistaken, they’d make a show out of it.” Jekyll adds, “to make an example of their crimes?”

“Unfortunately.” Sanson sighs heavily. “It was out of my hands when the Reign of Terror commenced, though.”

“Your claymore is what you used prior to its creation, correct?” Sasori questioned. Sanson nodded. “I see. Back home, a missing nin named Momochi Zabuza owned a sword called the Executioner’s Blade. Your claymore looks similar to it.”

Sanson appeared briefly surprised, but nodded slowly. The trio fell into a discussion regarding weaponry from Sasori’s world, ranging from the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, to the obscure rumors Sasori heard about from across the ocean regarding knights. Gradually they moved closer to the food, each taking a plate in hand. Like a mother hen, Jekyll suggested food for Sasori to grab. Sanson added in his two cents too, suggesting healthier food options. Emiya happened to be on duty too, casting the puppeteer a curious glance. 

“So the puppet eats?” Emiya asks, mirthfully.

“Not by choice.” Sasori retorts flatly.

Emiya smirks, when gathering the food for each of them. He sends them off on their merry way and back into the dizzying hoard of people. On the way, a smaller shadow falls into step with them.

“Hi Jack.” Jekyll warmly smiles, waving. “Joining us for lunch?”

Jack mutely nods. 

Sanson’s brow furrows, bothered. “Why aren’t you with Nursery, Jeanette and Paul? Did something happen?”

Sasori watches the child pout, adjusting her tray in her hands.

“We got into an argument.” Jack puffs her cheeks, “so we ran away from it.”

The other two assassins exchange a worrying glance. From what Sasori recalled, Jeanette was the name they gave to Jeanne Alter Santa Lily, while Nursery Rhyme was another Caster Servant. Paul meanwhile was a Berserker who could grow into a giant and likely level a whole state. 

Jack was the little brat who boldly hopped atop of Hiruko the first day he arrived. She was also the infamous Jack the Ripper, or at least based on the serial killer. 

The group eventually found a table to sit at, with Jack next to Sasori while the others sat across from them. Before Sasori could even think of eating, cold hands brushed against his arm. Sasori enables his chakra strings and attaches them onto the assailant to halt any further curiosity.

Jack’s eyes go wide, but she stares blankly back up at him. Unafraid of any ramifications.

“You aren’t wooden.” Jack points out. 

“Not yet.” Sasori remarks.

“We thought you were a puppet.” Jack replied innocently. Her gaze shifts look at what holds her. “So you weren’t entirely one then?”

Sasori lapses into silence, his mask of apathy cracking a faction. He averts his eyes, lowering his hand. 

“....Not entirely.” Sasori answered after a few minutes, then disables his chakra. “Don’t touch me, girl.”

“Mmkay.” Jack nods, going to town on her food.

Jekyll and Sanson also visibly relax, beginning to eat their meals too. When Sasori picks up his utensil to eat again, a familiar chakra flare makes him stop. It isn’t Konan, she was off on a supply run with Ritsuka. That could only mean-

Something cold and disgusting splashed against his neck, making him shiver. 

“What? No reaction? How _boring_!” A familiar voice drawls out. 

In times like this, Sasori really wished he had possession of his puppet body. He would’ve turned his head 180 degrees to glare. Calmly, he glances behind him to see a familiar shade of grey hair.

Jack blinks, takes a finger and licks off the liquid. “He threw a tomato at you.”

“Of course he would.” Sasori retorts, murderous intent buzzing around him. 

Hidan stands close by, head canted to the side. He guffaws at his misfortune. “What, too scared to throw back?”

Sasori wondered if it was a coincidence he threw food at him first, or not. The Jashinist never saw his true form before, only a select few were given that honor. Hidan was an idiot with too much raw power.

“Of course not.” Sasori replies smoothly, disregarding the coldness prickling at his skin. He bends over to grab the squashed tomato, and throws it back at him.

It splatters against his former collegue’s foot, which causes Hidan to burst into laughter. 

“You call that a throw?” Hidan tilts up his chin, condescendingly smirking. 

Sasori’s lips quirk into a smirk. “You haven’t changed at all, Hidan.”

Before Hidan can properly react, the chakra string he previously attached to the tomato connected to Hidan’s foot. With a swipe of his hand, Sasori tripped him over himself right onto the floor. 

“How the fuc–!” Hidan grinds his teeth, then jumps back to his feet. Like a force of nature, he pushes against Sasori’s control and goes over to an unused table.

Sasori stumbles, watching the idiot haul up the table and throws it at him. He jumps out of the way, ducking between Sanson and Jekyll. Sanson meanwhile quickly jumped atop the table, avoiding the food, and sliced through the thrown table with his claymore. 

“Haven’t figured it out, Hidan?” Sasori drawled. “It’s me, Sasori.”

“The puppet freak??” Hidan looks bewildered, “Real shit? You just look like a pea sized brat I could kill easily!”

“Pathetically hot headed as always.” Sasori huffs, eyes rolling.

That happened to be the ice breaker, because the cafeteria fell into chaos due to the rowdier and younger Servants. Food began to fly everywhere, splattering against the formally pristine white walls. Sasori casts his chakra strings onto a table and throws it up to defend himself and the others from the onslaught. 

Jack slipped into the commotion, flinging food back at Hidan, causing the older one to swipe at her with his summoned scythe. She jumped atop the tip, giggling mischievously and threw the salad she stole from Sanson into his face. It caused him to yelp, stumbling back into someone else.

“Hidan— why did you run- _ah!_ ” Ritsuka shouts, but hardly ducks in time. Then for a minute, she loses control of her body and she feels something attached to her.

When Ritsuka opens her eyes, she sees Sasori crouched over her. 

“S-Sasori!” Ritsuka squeaks, eyes widening. “What’s—“

“Hidan.” Sasori replies flatly, lips pursed into a frown. “He started a food fight.”

Ritsuka closes her mouth, then glances from their hiding spot from the table. Some of the other Servants are already working to cease the chaos. She watches paper flying about, directed at Hidan, Konan not too far behind.

“Th... thanks for saving me.” Ritsuka said, touching at arm. 

Sasori flinched, tensing slightly. He stared at her for a good minute, then inclined his head.

“I’ll secure an escape route for you.” Sasori replied curtly. “Don’t need your head lopped off.”

Ritsuka smiles, seeing a flicker of worry in his eyes. It wasn’t for long, but she appreciated the gesture. She moves off the floor, now crouching, observing all the wasted food fly.

“I’ll cover you.” Sanson called over his shoulder. 

“Thanks Sanson!” Ritsuka replies, “ready?”

Sasori nods mutely, now standing up. Konan’s flies close by, casting a glance down, her paper wings flapping every now and then. 

“I’m going to throw her to you, Konan.” Sasori ordered, “Catch her.”

Konan casts a glance at her, then nods. “Whenever you’re ready.”

When she flies over to the entrance of the cafeteria, Sasori enables his chakra strings and casts them onto Ritsuka. The prickling sensation ghosts over at her skin, but it feels comforting to her too. The puppeteer wastes no time flinging her into the air.

Ritsuka stifles her scream, feeling gravity pushing her down. But then a pair of comforting hands surrounds her, prompting her to look up to see Konan. The prickling sensation goes away, and they’re safe on the ground. She watches in fascination Konan’s paper wings fading away, being repurposed into paper shuriken.

“I’m sure things will calm down soon.” Konan reassures, placing a comforting hand onto her shoulder. “You should go rest, we’ll handle this.”

Ritsuka sways slightly, glancing back to the dwindling chaos but nods. When she’s back into the hall, she casts one more glance behind her to see Sasori confronting Hidan again and smiles.

She looked straight ahead when the doors closed. It looked like he was coming around.

**Bond Level Four Achieved!**

* * *

**\Interlude: A Puppet's Fragility/**

Lingering remnants of past Singularities always brought trouble, prompting Chaldea to keep a watchful eye on all of them. The restoration of the human order was no doubt a bumpy process, causing hiccups and distortions while it repaired itself. 

Shinjuku and Agartha were special cases, however, because technically they wouldn’t affect their history. Chaldea logged their coordinates in their database in case any other anomalies arose. 

Sasori has been to Shinjuku on and off for supply runs over the last couple of months, but never did it call for his soul. Yet recently, intuition prompted him to go, it made sense to him because of the sub singularity’s nature. Shinjuku was a cesspool of evil. The most unthinkable crimes were committed there, he witnessed it from the recorded footage in the Archives. 

He listened intently to the commentary of the Berserker of Shinjuku: the Phantom of the Opera. They were similar, their opinions of art _almost_ overlapping, yet the path diverged. The man thoughtlessly put together his abhorrent puppets, instead, making them in quantity, not quality.

Christine is another story, it made him sneer. She too was a failure. 

Placing down a wooden limb onto his workbench, Sasori stares down at it. His puppet body comes to mind– _he thought it was perfect_ , but it was defective like him. Unlike his battle ready puppets, this one he delicately crafted– it was an arm, supposed to be prosthetic. It was a request, and he could not fail.

Pouring chakra into his finger tips, Sasori attaches it to the limb, prompting it to rigidly move, Sasori grimaces, breaking it without hesitation. Imperfection wasn’t allowed, after all. He couldn’t have any less than perfect. A defective item should be thrown away, if it had no use, there was no point in making it. 

Sasori sharply breathes through his nose, then sighs. Sanson’s nagging voice echoed in his head, prompting him to stand, his chair scraping against the floor. It was bothersome, normally he wouldn’t have listened to a word anyone said. And yet, his body’s already moving to his bed and he lays down. 

Solitude was his constant companion for years, but now he’s widely uncomfortable with it. It didn’t help how many of his allies boldly inserted themselves into his personal space. Another cog shifted inside Sasori; something was changing. A quiet panic began festering inside him for weeks. He wasn’t sure of what to do with it. Sasori squeezed his eyes shut, allowing his consciousness to drift off to sleep. 

* * *

Emergency alarms sounded throughout Chaldea’s halls, prompting Da Vinci to call for a small team to investigate. Sasori cast a quiet glance over to Ritsuka, she looked perplexed. Their eyes met momentarily, but something was different. She looked at him differently, then averted her gaze. 

“Appears like the irregularity is in Shinjuku,” Da Vinci mused aloud, glancing at the monitor. “Whatever is causing this is moderately big, it’d be unwise to ignore it.”

“The source of it is in Kabukicho.” Mashu reports, frowning. “That was where….” 

“Ah, right. That’s where the Coloraturas were.” Ritsuka piped in. “Do you think they’re the cause? I thought we eliminated them all?”

“The _hell_ are Coloraturas?” Hidan frowned, crossing his arms. He happened to be called to help.

“Abominations.” Ritsuka nonchalantly replied, “They were automations made out of human body parts.”

Hidan’s eyes narrow at Sasori, then grins. “No different from the puppet bastard, then?”

“They’re hideous.” Sasori scoffs, shaking his head. “Hardly close to my caliber, I doubt they’d be worthy sacrifices either.” 

“We don’t even know what we’re dealing with.” Da Vinci interrupts, lips strained into a smile. “So be careful would you?” 

Ritsuka clasps her hands together, clapping them thrice and smiles to the group assembled. Sasori notices the bags under her eyes, but doesn’t say a word. 

“Alright guys, let’s do this!” Rituska cheers, “we’ll be back by dinner time!”

* * *

Upon being transferred to Shinjuku, the atmosphere shifted around Sasori. There was a strange sensation prickling across his skin, invisible hands pushing him forward. He felt like a puppet on strings, being led away.

Sasori takes in the scenery, familiar buildings loom over them. He vaguely remembers the plan Moriarty concocted, that included the bomb. When he hears the crinkling of paper, he turns to face Konan. 

“Find anything useful?” Sasori raised a brow toward. 

“Indeed.” Konan nods, who now reaches out for his hand. “Hold a moment Sasori.”

“What?” Sasori shoots her an incredulous look.

“ _Release!”_ Konan utters, hands weaving a hand sign. The odd pressure coiled around Sasori’s limb faded away, “How strange, it appeared you were under some kind of genjutsu.”

“Genjutsu?” Sasori frowns, then glancing around to where their teammates are. “Does that mean–”

“Someone of our world, I wager.” Konan drawled. “It must have been recently placed onto you, I thought something was off.”

“I wonder who it might be then.” Sasori muttered, grabbing at his belt for a scroll. “What did you find?”

“Distortional rifts. The automations are being summoned from them.” Konan said, “I also caught a glimpse of a Shadow Servant roaming about too. It could be a part of the irregularity.”

Sasori hummed, unraveling the scroll and released one of his beloved puppets. The Third Kazekage looms silently over him, surveying the new scenery with glass eyes. With a flick of his hand, a mutter of the jutsu, the puppet unhinges its jaw and iron sand streams out of its mouth. It pours around Sasori’s feet, creating a platform for him to kneel on. With another hand wave, the platform of iron sand levitates him in the air.

“One of us should stay close to Ritsuka.” Sasori said, “from what I recall Kazuku telling me, Hidan’s terrible at getting out of Genjutsu. It should be you, since you’re a sensor.” 

“Wouldn’t that already be moot, since we’ve been implemented into Servant Classes though?” Konan’s skin started to unfold from her face, appearing akin to paper. “Don’t forget we have allies with us who can dispel it.”

“They’re Servants, not Shinobi, Konan.” Sasori hissed, the iron sand squirms underneath his feet. “She’s a liability. If they’re placed under one, it would prevent them from healing her too. It won’t matter if she’s resistant to it then.” 

“I concur. In that case, you should be the one to protect her.” Konan’s body divides into paper, but Sasori swears he briefly saw a smile ghost over her lips. The paper fragments turn into birds and fly toward their group to surround them.

Sasori’s expression contorts into a scowl, urging the iron sand to follow after her. Upon getting closer, he sighs when he sees a scuffle between them and automations. He flexed his left hand, splintering off the iron sand to form spikes to rain down onto them. Hidan dances between them, plunging his scythe through the metal. Meltlilth matches his pace, weaving between them with her legs. 

Nursery Rhyme and Saint Martha stay close to Ritsuka, batting away any remnants who slipped close. Sasori prompts for the iron sand to form into a block, and he swings it against the remainder of the enemy. Sasori completes their protective triangle, while the iron sand hovers around the four of them. 

“Sasori.” Martha said firmly, teeth clicking together. She glances to her right, to look at him. “Would you mind….explaining your tardiness?”

“Simply taking in the scenery.” Sasori nonchalantly replies, he hears her gloves tighten into a fist. 

The enemy numbers dwindle before them, clattering to their feet. Konan flutters above them, partially reforming into herself. In the distance, Hidan’s boisterous laughter echoes throughout the street.

“Any sign of the enemy?” Konan questioned, surveying the littered street. 

“Not yet.” Nursery shakes her head, lips pursed into a frown. “When you two left to check the area we began to hear singing. And then they descended.”

“Coloraturas then?” Sasori glanced over to his allies, “Have you checked?”

“Yes. There was time between the second and third wave of enemies.” Martha confirms after composing herself once more. “The mechanisms are similar to that time, I ripped– I…. I mean, opened the face compartment myself.”

Sasori turned to face Ritsuka, he watched her blankly surveying the scene. The Master kneels down to one of the automations, placing her hand onto its head. Martha frowns, letting out a sigh. 

“Whatever is causing the abnormality, it’s close.” The communicator hums to life; a holographic image of Mashu springs forward. “...it’s strange though.”

“Report.” Sasori deadpans, half lidded brown eyes narrow at her.

“U-um, the signature keeps reappearing and disappearing. We can’t get a complete reading on it, but it's a singular enemy.” Mashu pushes up her glasses, frowning. 

“...Undoubtedly it’s the Berserker of Shinjuku’s work.” Da Vinci adds. “we managed to get a scan of it before you two returned.”

Sasori joins the Master on the floor, then tears the automation’s head away from Ritsuka. Her head snaps upward, bewildered. Removing a kunai from his holster, he gorges into the metal and it screeches open. Sasori scrutinizes the handiwork, the corners of his lips quirk downward.

“So that’s how it is.” Sasori mutters, thumbing through the framework inside. 

“Mind sharing with the class, Sasori?” Da Vinci inquires cheerfully.

With a wave of his hand, the Third Kazekage becomes animated once more. Iron sand spills from its mouth, plunging between the joints of the automations. It splinters off, forming a sphere around himself, Ritsuka and others. 

An explosion goes off moments afterward, but it isn’t just _one_ explosion– it’s a domino effect, prompting them to explode at once.

“What’s going–” Martha gasped, now pushed to her knees closer to the others. 

“They’ve been modified.” Sasori answers simply.

“Modified?” Nursery echoes, now frowning.

They were all squished together, along with the Third Kazekage’s puppet. The iron sand shield shudders after each explosion, but it maintains its form. Ritsuka’s been pushed against Sasori’s chest, she angles her head gazing at him blankly. Her lips briefly purse together, and it’s beginning to bother him.

“You know who did it?” Ritsuka whispers quietly after a moment.

“Naturally.” Sasori replied smugly, “...it was my handiwork.” 

When the explosions finally cease, the iron sand shield lowers and slithers back into the puppet’s gaping maw. All of the automations are gone, likely from the result of being blown away. Konan swoops in, feet touching the street granite. Hidan lumbers closer to the group, looking the most beat up of all of them. Meltliltih skates over toward them, skidding to a stop and crossed her arms. Martha glances over toward the Jashinist, and with a wave of her staff, his wounds close up as if they were never there. 

“Perhaps I’ve been summoned here for some reason.” Sasori looks everywhere but at them, surveying the empty street. 

A shadow flickers in the distance, and Sasori splayed his hands prompting his puppet to extend its arms. The shadow lunges forward, springing into the air. Using the necessary hand signs, Sasori unleashes the Third Kazekage’s arms– summoning forth more puppet limbs to shield their group.

They hadn’t accounted for the shadow to throw itself above the arms, landing momentarily on one of the limbs. It threw out a metal cord, poison glinting on the edge. Metal scraped against one another, due to Meltlilth’s intervention, kicking the interloper away. But the sharper edge of the cord is aimed right at Sasori. 

Sasori waits to be pierced in the stomach, but it never comes. 

When the momentum dies down, the shadowy figure skids to a stop. The anticipated pain never comes, but bewilderment washes over Sasori’s face.

Ritsuka grins right up at him, the metal cord pierced into her side.

“Master!” Mashu cries out. 

The shadowy figure stalks forward, the miasma surrounding it lessens some, revealing a familiar shape. 

“Ah. I missed.” The familiar voice intones.

“You _idiot_.” Sasori hisses at Ritsuka when she falls into him. 

Ritsuka spits up blood, but she has the audacity to laugh. What a cheeky brat.

“...Huh. Seems like… that imperfect doll made me miss her vitals.” The shadow servant mused, he sounds mildly annoyed; the distortion in his voice lessening.

“Man, puppet bastard, you really did a number on yourself.” Hidan jeered from a distant, “not even Jashin-sama would forgive you for that!”

Ritsuka leaned onto him, but she was smirking. Sasori didn’t understand why, because logically– she should’ve known better. It could’ve been a killing blow and messed with their plans.

“Ya know,” Ritsuka steadies herself against him, then looks up. “I’ve been told I have great poison resistance! Your lame poison hardly tickles!”

Sasori baps her atop her head, prompting Ritsuka to squeak. His usual mask of indifference breaks apart, annoyance is smeared onto it instead. “Stop joking around, or was this your plan to begin with?”

“Nah, things just happened so…” Ritsuka replied innocently, she cast a glance behind them, “But this should keep him in place, right?”

This appeared to be the cue, because Hidan immediately lunged at the shadow servant’s back. He cut off the Servant’s head, and it flew away easily. Meltlilith sliced away the legs, which disconnected them from the joints and caused it to topple over. When both of them jumped away, Konan sent paper bombs to deliver the killing blow.

When the smoke clears from the blast, Nursery sends a wave of magic at the trapped figure. The body is fragmented, broken apart so easily.

 _Too_ easily.

The figure reforms, limbs snapped back into the joints. Sasori’s brow furrowed when watching the grotesque display. When the figure attempts to wave around the metal cord, Sasori sends the Third Kazekage after him. Iron sand invades the wooden joints, restricting further movement. 

It’s over when Martha summons Tarasque, who lands directly on top and crushing the body underneath its weight. No one else seemed to notice, but a cylinder object popped out of the chest cavity. Cursing under his breath, Sasori cast a chakra string at it, to catch it. He then flings it over to the Jashinist.

“Hidan!” Sasori yelled, “ _fetch!”_

“I ain’t your goddamn dog!” Hidan shouted, he spins around piercing the abnormal object with his scythe. 

When the dust settles, the Shadow Servant begins to erode away into nothingness. The odd cylinder object continues to twitch, its movement gradually lessens. From the figure, a ghost emerges forth from it, but he too is breaking down. Familiar red hair bleeds through the shadow, accompanied by empty brown eyes.

The cord in Ritsuka also disappears, leaving her with an open wound. Martha rushes over to them, casting a healing magic onto them. The magic slowly begins to sew flesh back together, waving away any remaining poison.

“...Huh, how odd.” The Shadow Servant inclines his head, blinking. “So you are a failure as well.” 

“I am.” Sasori answers back, “as are you.”

The Shadow Servant blinks, staring at the puppeteer owlishly. 

“If I were not bound to this vessel, then the both of you would be dead.” The Shadow Servant stated. “....they would have played right into my hands too, if you weren’t here..”

“Ah. Your arrogance is pathetic, they would’ve figured it out..” Sasori snarked, adjusting his Master in his hold. “No wonder why Haruno hated us and Granny pitied us.” 

“Such trivialities do not matter to me.” The shadow servant scoffed. “....How human of you.”

“You’re still human as well.” Sasori rebuked. “We are far broken, too far gone– but we were stopped, our art is eternal already.”

The Shadow Servant regards them quietly, then bows his head. Sasori catches a smirk played on the shade’s lips, further irritating when he finally disappears.

“Enemy Servant defeated.” Mashu confirmed, the holographic reappearing beside them.

The others sighed with relief, while Meltlilth said nothing. Glancing to Hidan, Sasori opened his mouth wordlessly, it shut, lips curved into a frown. Without saying a word, he grabbed onto the Master and leapt away back onto an iron sand platform.

“What’re you doing?!” Meltlilith shouted.

“Getting out of harm's way of course.” Sasori said, watching Hidan swing his scythe at Martha. “Ah, there we go.”

Hidan’s scythe connects with Martha’s staff, they both jump away. Nursery meanwhile fretted quietly, uncertain of what to do.

“Konan!” Sasori called over.

Paper swarmed in the air, cutting into the Jashinist’s skin. Meltlilth then leapt and slammed him down, gorging his stomach with her pointed kneecaps and jumped out of harm's way. Hidan gasped out, blood spilling out of his lips. Konan slammed her heel into his back, and immediately went for his exposed shoulder.

“Release!” Konan said, chakra surged into him, disrupting the genjutsu. 

Before anyone said a word, someone began to clap. 

“Well.... well....” a deep voice rumbled. “You’ve seen through my plans....”

Reality began to wrinkle where the previous shadow servant was defeated. In its place, shadows surged and created a new one. But this one hadn’t fully manifested, instead only revealing half its body to them. The sharingan brightly gleamed in the miasma surrounding the figure.

The fog around him cleared, revealing a fragmented man with dark hair. His form translucent and unsteady, wearing armor from the Warring States era. 

“It appears I cannot intervene in this world for too long.” The man observed, craning his neck while surveying his surroundings.

“An Uchiha.” Sasori remarked, his face scrunched together. “Just our luck.”

“It appears you’ve been able to dispel the summoning, somehow....” The man said, earning him a few bewildered looks.

“It seems the heavy mana in the air is rejecting your existence.” Konan quipped. “Uchiha Madara.”

Madara’s brow raised, intrigued; his form quivers. “So it appears.”

“He has....ah, mystic eyes who can manipulate others. You shouldn’t look directly at them.” Sasori announced coolly, earning a glance from the dead man. “In your weakened state I doubt you’d be able to survive here long.”

“Likely not.... however....” Madara grins, forming a hand sign and he grows into a gigantic ghost. “I ought to test your abilities while here.”

Madara swipes his skeletal hand at them, and the group dodges. Konan escorted Hidan’s unconscious body away, prompting Martha to head over to heal him. 

“What is your purpose here?” Konan asks, while delivering a stream of paper bombs his way. 

Madara blocks them, flicking them away like flies. “ Reconnaissance, I suppose.”

“Don’t tell me, you’re trying to convert other worlds as well?” Sasori spat, adjusting Ritsuka in his arms. His fingers flicker and the Third Kazekage has iron sand rain onto the ghost.

“I’ve heard from an ally of the....possibility of other worlds existing. How specific ones have connected.” Madara offers cryptically, sending a wave of fire to flash against it. 

“Typical.” Sasori grunts, motioning for the iron sand to dodge.

“What do you mean?” Martha yelled out. “Are you trying to say you’re attempting to invade ours??”

“You wouldn’t understand my ambitions.” Madara scoffed. But his form began to diminish from the beams of light sent his way. 

“Then.... we won’t let you!” Nursery cries out, she begins to glow, mana surrounds her body.

“It’s pathetic how you’ve resigned yourself to becoming a puppet.” Sasori spat. 

“Do enlighten me, since you know me already.” Madara said.

“If you’re going to attempt to recreate the Infinite Tsukuyomi here, we won’t allow it!” Konan shouted, directing her paper to gather. She sent off at him and it ignited in a blast. 

Ritsuka shifted her weight against Sasori, taking a moment to glance down at the large ghost.

“You have no power here! We won’t let you interfere with this world or any other!” Ritsuka shouted, prompting Madara to look upward.

“Even if you allow the oppressive cycles to continue?” Madara accuses. Ritsuka doesn’t say a word. “We’d be allowing a newer opportunity for them.....without violence.”

“We’ve seen the price of your end goal.” Konan sneered, “and we won’t allow it here either!!”

Madara has been so caught up with attacking Konan and Sasori, he had completely forgotten about the rest of their party.

Meltlilith entraps Madara into a watery vortex, cutting through his spirit with her heels. She spins and knees the ghost’s eyes prompting a screech of pain. Nursery summons forth her book form, the pages flutter open and unleash her built up magic- an assortment of objects from the story book slam into Madara.

Madara’s ghost form screeches, and attempts to swipe at the Caster. However, he’s blocked by a three pronged scythe.

“You thought you saw the last of me, didn’t ya??” Hidan shouts, and rips into the arm. Blood gushes out of it, prompting the ghost to hiss. 

Hidan smirks, licks the blood, and creates the Jashin symbol on the street. His skin darkens, form mirroring a skeleton. 

“Qualifications have been met! HAHAHAHA!” Hidan then twirls his other weapon, stabbing himself right through his chest.

The skeletal ghost breaks down, collapsing into the street and begins to fade away. It turns back into Madara, the pinwheels in his eyes cease spinning, returning back to black.. 

“You were lucky.....” Madara coughed, as his translucent form breaks apart, disappearing into tiny shards. “ that I was suppressed by this world’s rules....next time may not be as easy.”

And Madara disappears in a plume of smoke. 

Sasori lowers him and Ritsuka back onto the ground, the iron sand returning to the Third Kazekage. The rest of his teammates approach, with Martha addressing the wounded, namely Hidan, who she began to berate. 

The communications spring to life, showing a relieved Mashu and Da Vinci.

“Annnnd that’s a wrap!” Da Vinci cheers, but her eyes aren’t smiling. “I expect an explanation when you get back— hang on while we work on ray shifting you home.”

Sasori said nothing in response, instead looking at the spot Madara disappeared. The rest of their group fell silent while awaiting to be rayshifted back to Chaldea. Ritsuka peeled herself off of him, running over to check up on Hidan. Konan meanwhile knelt over by Nursery Rhyme, who kept glancing at him every now and then.

“You’re a strange human.” Meltlilth quipped while joining him at his side, now peering down at him. The Alter Ego crossed her arms over her chest, the sleeves sway along with her movement.

Human. Right, he was one, but not quite. He wasn’t even sure what he was anymore. Sasori lazily raises his brown eyes to meet her gaze.

“Technically I was, I am— why the sudden interest?” Sasori tilted his head, expression marred with indifference.

“The first shadow servant was you.” Meltlilth commented, “you made yourself into a doll.”

“Puppet.” Sasori looked mildly offended.

“Same thing.” Meltlilth rolled her eyes, “you weren’t any fun to kill.”

“Did you just come over to complain about not being satisfied?” Sasori’s brow furrows, now looking annoyed.

“No. It sounded like you were confirming something for yourself.” Meltlilth huffed, now turning forward. Ritsuka hobbled back over to them, “like you were reminding yourself what you really are.”

Sasori let out a noncommittal grunt when Ritsuka claws after him. He pushes her lightly away, prompting her to pout.

“I’m tired, brat. Go bother Hidan.” Sasori muttered, waving dismissively.

But Ritsuka remained defiant, moving even closer. She wraps her arms around his waist, then collapses into him. 

Sasori glances between Ritsuka and Meltlilth who motioned for him to embrace her back. He roughly grabs onto her, hands fumbling to worm themselves around her back. His shoulders tense when he feels he reciprocate.

“Just for a moment.” Ritsuka mumbles, as she leans onto him for support. From a glance, he could tell this whole ordeal took a lot out of her.

With a sigh, Sasori allowed her to rest just this once as they were brought back.

* * *

When Ritsuka dreams of her allies, they often come in fragmented scenes upon their arrival. It’s like a puzzle that she has to assort though, and day by day she receives a different one each day. She wonders if they ever feel the same thing with her.

Many of them were fantastic heroes and devious villains, sometimes teetering that line of grey. Ritsuka often felt small beside them, but there are few times she’s been able to fully connect with them.

When Sasori’s memories began to filter through, she was able to relate to him too. A sepia film overlays his past, from his childhood to the moment he died and then to his reanimation. But she hadn’t anticipated to really _relate_ to him.

When she woke up, she rubbed away the tears and met up with him and the others. She couldn’t bear to look at him long, otherwise she’d begin to cry for him. 

They were almost similar. They both strived for perfection, wanting to please- and it could be nothing less. Even before coming to Chaldea, Ritsuka felt the need to fit a certain role, otherwise she felt like she didn’t fit in at all. 

Ritsuka felt relief. 

When she watched Sasori confront the Shadow Servant, her heart soared. Her body moved on its own, taking the attack for him. Perhaps he was acting out of obligation, but she noticed how his usual aloofness from his doll-like face cracked apart, replaced with concern. She considers it another small victory.

When Ritsuka sinks into him after the battle closes, she can faintly hear his heart beat. He doesn’t push her away either, which contents her.

Ritsuka hopes that maybe, she can fully tear down the wall between them. 

**Bond Level Five Achieved!**

* * *

“So.... that’s how it is.” Da Vinci mused aloud.

“Indeed.” Sasori concludes, “I don’t know all the details, however, know something is coming.”

Sasori stands alone with Da Vinci in her workshop. It’s been a few days since his last mission regarding Madara, mostly due to the genius’s hectic schedule. 

“Aah, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there then! Too bad I can’t pester Merlin for questions.” Da Vinci laughs, now standing up from her chair. “I expect a written report sometime soon so we can put it into the archives.”

“Of course, I won’t keep you waiting.” Sasori nods. “Also, you mentioned before—“

“Yeeeep! We have enough materials to give you a power boost!” Da Vinci grins, then gestures to the ascension platform.

Sasori complies, wasting no time to get there and climbs atop the platform. Da Vinci snags some materials off her workbench and empties them into the computer. With a groan of the machine, light begins to dance around his frame and he feels power wash over him like a tide.

When the light dies down, Sasori carefully inspects his arms. He doesn’t understand why, but relief washes over him. They aren’t wooden, they’re still made up of flesh and bone. 

“Sad you haven’t changed forms yet?” Da Vinci teased.

“No.” Sasori looks up at her, but blinks in surprise at what he said. “Not really, I’ve been told by Shuten Douji you’re able to change forms even after ascension.”

Da Vinci confirms that with a nod. “Mmhm, you just need to visualize which form you want to utilize and use some mana, build it up and it can happen.”

Satisfied by the answer, Sasori descends off the platform. He recalls the Oni after he became human marvel at how young he appeared. When he asked her own, she merely giggled and told him at the time of their training session she was too lazy to bring out her sword and decided to dine on her fruit and sake instead.

Da Vinci waves when Sasori is about to exit, but her workshop door opens and a blur of pink hair barrels into him. They both stagger back, prompting surprise from both artists.

“I’m so sorry!” Mashu cries out, now adjusting her glasses. “Da Vinci— Master is....!”

Da Vinci’s expression becomes grim and steps forward. Sasori steps aside to let her enter into the hall.

“What happened?” Da Vinci asked, frowning.

“She... she suddenly collapsed!” Mashu cried, “I was with her and Kojiro in the library and we were talking about ....”

“Tell me on the way there.” Da Vinci ordered, “where have they taken her?”

“Infirmary.” Mashu concluded, her brow knitting together in worry.

With a nod, Da Vinci sped off into that direction with Mashu hot on her heels leaving Sasori by himself. He stared wordlessly at the empty hallway, then placed a foot forward, an imaginary force compelled him to follow.

* * *

The infirmary is bustling with nervous energy when Sasori arrives. He spots a crowd hovering over one of the beds, Da Vinci is amongst them, speaking with the other staff members overseeing her vitals. There are other Servants in the room, and with a half lided curosy glance he sees Sherlock Holmes in the corner. There’s also Shuten Douji, speaking to Ibaraki Douji near her bedside. Florence Nightingale strangely isn’t present currently, and he’s strangely relieved. 

In the corner of the room, the puppeteer spots tufts of pink. Sasori strides forward, plants himself by her side.

“What details do you have right now?” Sasori leans his head over, but his eyes remain locked onto the unconscious girl.

“She suddenly collapsed after we..... Sasaki Kojiro, Master and I started talking about the female Miyamoto Musashi from earlier this year.” Mashu began, lips pursed into a frown. “We don’t know what happened, but Mr. Holmes is suspecting it’s similar to the incident with Mr. Dantes.”

Sasori doesn’t react, but he recalls reading about the Edmond Dantes incident. 

“—Her health?” Sasori’s half lidded gaze flickers to her now.

“Stable.” Mashu said, letting out a sigh. “Which I’m thankful for... but whatever is happening, the Staff mentioned how she’s using mana every now and then, indicating she could be fighting someone.”

Sasori is worried that Madara decided to confront Ritsuka alone. Because in that case, there would be no one to dispel the genjutsu. 

“Has anyone ray shifted?” Sasori suddenly asked, prompting surprise from Mashu.

“No– um, we’re currently in preparations. Da Vinci is planning to set something up in a few minutes.” Mashu explained, while tugging at her sleeves. “Did you want to go?”

There are hundreds of capable Servants in Chaldea, so it’s not like he’s obligated to go. A part of him wants to go to confirm his suspicions, he didn’t want to wait either. It’s just a job, a role, he’s nothing but a tool to their bigger operations, and yet....

 _What do you think a human life is!?_ Haruno Sakura’s words from their fight echo in the back of his mind. She was the first to question his morals, to debunk his old way of thinking. His foolish Master is the second. Ritsuka hadn’t treated him like a tool to use, she treated him like he was human. At first, her ideals were annoying, but now...

“It depends what happens.” Sasori replies with a shrug, “overreacting would be foolish, especially when we don’t know who the enemy is.”

“Do you think it’s the man from the other day?” Mashu asks.

“Ah, Uchiha Madara correct?” A new voice joins in. Sherlock Holmes approaches. “The man who crossed over from your dimension?”

“Indeed, but based on our encounter, they haven’t figured out how to implement themselves into this world yet.” Sasori said, “An ambitious man, but he’s probably bidding his time, it’s way too soon for them to attack.”

Sherlock lets out a thoughtful hum, then inclined his head. “I’m assuming Da Vinci asked you to write a report?”

“Indeed. Both Konan and I will be collaborating on it.” Sasori replies. There’s no way in hell Hidan remembered half of the history because of his lack of brain cells. 

Sherlock nods again, then glances back toward Ritsuka’s sleeping form. “We’ll be briefing everyone in a few minutes about our plans. Come to the command room in a few minutes.”

With that, Sherlock leaves the infirmary, the automatic doors closing behind him. 

“The brat.....Ritsuka is stubborn.” Sasori mused aloud, his gaze lingers on her sleeping form before turning toward the door. “She’ll figure something out.”

And Sasori leaves for the Command Room as well.

* * *

Turns out, after attempting to rayshift nearly every single Servant registered in Chaldea, only one of them went through.

Fuuma Kotaro had been sent out hours ago, they haven’t heard from him since. Da Vinci ordered for all the available healing Casters to report to the infirmary to help oversee Ritsuka’s health, along with Servants who are capable of healing magic. 

They’ve been deployed in shifts, Sasori being amongst them. Ritsuka’s health changes within minutes, from healthy to pale, where she’d start breathing heavily. But then she’d regain her color and fall into normal rhythm.

Sasori glances to his current companions, after wiping the sweat from his brow. The green light surrounding his hand diminishes. David leaned against the wall, staff in hand, while Irisvel sat close to the girl’s bedside opposite of the current staff members looming near. Mozart was speaking in low whispers with Medea Lily, who allowed her shoulders to slouch. 

The doors to the infirmary open, prompting everyone to look over. Mashu stands in the doorframe, with a satisfied smile. 

“....Ah, Mashu.” Mozart smiles, giving her a small wave. “Checking up on Master?”

“Mmhm.” Mashu said, while adjusting a container in her hand. “I’ve also brought some food for you all, I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

Mashu opens up the lid of the container, revealing a pile of onigiri inside of it. She offers a nervous smile to them all, “..There’s more where this came from too!”

“Awh, thank you dear.” Irisviel cooes, embracing her into a hug. “Emiya let you use the kitchen?”

“Yes, Boudica, Tamamo Cat and Jack helped me out.” Mashu replied with a nod, watching the others crowding around it. 

“It smells good.” David said, while reaching into the container. “Much thanks, Mashu.”

Sasori watched the others crowd around the container, then return back to Ritsuka’s side. They would begin administering magic onto her momentarily. The puppeteer languidly approaches the container, sticking a hand inside and draws one of the onigiri out. 

“Any news about Fuuma?” Sasori asks, while inspecting the individual grains of rice. He draws it closer to his lips, not yet taking a bite. 

“Oh! We did, not too long ago…” Mashu squeaked, “ah, I’m sorry, I should’ve said that first but I wanted to share the food with you.” 

Everyone’s attention turned back to Mashu, watching her expectantly. Mashu’s expression grows serious, but determination flares in her eyes.

“We’ll offer a full report to you guys when Senpai gets back, but, she’s okay! Before our connection cut out, they were going to confront the enemy.” Mashu stated, “she’s in good hands though, she’s with the female Musashi and Kotaro!”

“Was Uchiha Madara there?” Sasori tilted his head, now taking a bite. 

“We asked and no, he wasn’t.” Mashu shook her head. “It’s someone else we’re acquainted with, but we’ll keep you updated!”

Sasori chews into onigiri, moving his mouth mechanically while grinding it down. It tasted good, it’s been a long time since he’s eaten homemade food. He was going to keep that musing to himself, he was never good at compliments.

“...This isn’t poisoned, is it?” Sasori asked, and watched Mashu sputter and shake her head. 

“O-of course not!” Mashu now pouted, “...W..wait, were you trying to tease me?”

Sasori snorts, swallows and offers her a half smile. “Perhaps.”

He turns away from her, swallowing the last of it, and returns to Ritsuka’s bedside. She had grown pale again, which could only mean one thing. The door of the infirmary closed shut behind Mashu, probably returning back to the Command Room. He reaches deep inside himself, and his hand grows green with chakra once more.

The other Servants in the room cast a glance at one another, then rise to hover her bedside again too. Healing magic hovered over Ritsuka’s comatose form, then poured into her magic circuits, in hope to aid her against the unknown enemy. 

* * *

When Sasori’s shift ended, he watched the next crew of healers enter her room. Whatever was happening to Ritsuka, it was becoming even more intense. He headed to the Command Room, watching several Servants watching the monitors.

Once he moved inside, his gait stopped in the doorway. An odd sensation ghosted around his arms, particularly around his hands. He glanced down, feeling a tingling at his fingertips, prompting him to furrow his brow. It felt like his chakra was being used, if only for a moment– like he activated his chakra strings to command his puppets.

Although perplexed, Sasori doesn’t think much of it and joins Da Vinci at the monitor as they were noting down information regarding the report. Peering over her shoulder, he saw the incident was named Shimousa.

The Command Room’s doors then open up, revealing a relieved Tamamo.

“Master’s awake, everyone!” 

* * *

When Ritsuka wakes up from her dream, she feels groggy. 

“Senpai!” A familiar voice calls.

When her vision is focused, multiple people hover over her bedside. Mashu being one of them, now embracing her in a hug. She spots Shuten Douji in the corner, giving her a slight grin, while Kiyohime was being physically restrained by one of the other Berserkers. 

Ritsuka chuckles, offering a lazy smile and ruffles Mashu’s head. 

“Woah...how long was I out for?” Ritsuka giggled, letting out a yawn. She felt like she hadn’t slept for weeks.

“Nearly two weeks.” Mashu breathed, “I’m so glad you’re awake…!”

Ritsuka nods, a weary smile tugged at her lips. Picking up her head, she spotted a familiar blob of red in the corner. Sasori stood in the corner with his arms crossed, watching her from a sidelong glance. For a moment, she watches his previously tense shoulders slouch now– something he’s never been known for. He looks away when he notices her look at him, but Ritsuka notices how he briefly smiles.

“We’re glad to have you back,” Da Vinci cheers, pushing everyone else out of the way. She then puts her hands on her hips, then glances at the others. “Alright, clear out now~ we ought to give Ritsuka some space, yes?”

The crowd in the room begins to shuffle about, now exiting the infirmary. Sasori spares one final glance at her, then follows after the rest of them. Da Vinci is joined by Sherlock Holmes at the foot of her bed with Mashu and the other Chaldea staff in tow.

Ritsuka gently sighs, now sitting up in the bed and ready to recount her full report regarding Shimousa. Before she goes into full detail, she recounts briefly how much help the shadow of Sasori and countless others helped her defeat the Seven Swordsmen. 

**Bond Level Six Achieved!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More bond levels achieved! They're both getting somewhere now. Also, I've been trying to write Ritsuka akin to a.... faceless protagonist also and all the meta that goes into that, hope you guys don't mind me changing the pov between Sasori and Ritsuka every now and then. I had to fix things in my outline for the interlude part a bit, especially bc I kept contemplating who Sasori and co. would encounter to slowly tie things together. 
> 
> Next time: We'll be seeing more familiar faces. B)
> 
> * * *
> 
>  **NOBLE PHANTASM**  
>  Akahigi : Hyakki no Soen | Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets  
> Hit Count: 100  
> RANK: B+ > A [Post Interlude 2]  
> CLASSIFICATION: Anti Country  
> TYPE: Buster  
> Deals Damage to all Enemies.  
> [Post Interlude 2] Randomly inflicts enemy with a status condition (Poison or Stun)
> 
> * * *
> 
>  **ASCENSION ITEMS:**  
>  1st: Silver Assassin Statues x 4  
> 2nd: Silver Assassin Statues x 10 || Infinity Gear x 5  
> 3rd: Gold Assassin Statues x 4 || Stinger of Certain Death x4 | Black Tallow: x7  
> 4th: Gold Assassin Statues x10 || Spirit Root x4 || Heart of a Foreign God: 4


	6. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasori makes prosthetics, reunites with another ally . Chaldea also deals with another looming threat. 
> 
> He and Ritsuka talk about their struggles (and Feelings™) and reach an understanding.

Sasori moved on from wood, eating up any knowledge pertaining to metals and porcelain. He’s poured in hours of research pertaining to familiars and various kinds of magic regarding the manipulation of the elements. Half the time, Sasori was dragged back to his room by a concerned Jekyll or Sanson to prevent Nightingale from tearing him apart. 

Mages have quite the imagination, similar to Shinobi and their diligence. He’s learned enough at this point to see them begin to blur together. Although the origins are different, the process felt similar. Since the beginning of his summoning, he’s been amassing knowledge to stave off the boredom during the first few weeks. 

His whims has led to this moment.

“Here you are.” Sasori unwrapped the prosthetic limbs, now handing them off to her. “Although they’ve been made to be sturdy, don’t carelessly throw them around or whatever you brats do, call upon me if there’s any difficulty.”

“Thank you again, Mr. Sasori!” Nursery Rhyme cheered. The Caster gingerly takes ahold of them, bringing them close to her chest. She’s grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll cherish them forever!”

With that, the young Caster runs off, pigtails billowing behind her prompting the puppeteer to sigh. Sasori returns back inside and closes his bedroom door behind him, gaze falling to his workbench. Various different materials were strewn across it, most from previous supply runs. Ever since he regained control of his more humanoid form, he’s been tinkering with materials. His obsession with art shifted in a new direction, leading into something novel.

It sparked the interest of his comrades, namely some of the inventors and medical staff. Annoying is an understatement, but kept them all busy from the last sub Singularity. It’s been a week since Shimousa and Chaldea returned back to its temporary calm once again. After Ritsuka regained consciousness, she returned to her usual cheeriness, Sasori noticed she looked healthier as a result. He hadn’t looked at the archival footage, but he’s certain the experience was beneficial.

But last week, not even a few days after, Nursery Rhyme got into an accident during a supply run. It resulted with her ball jointed limbs to break down, and they were unable to fix her previous one strangely. Sasori just happened to be there, and might have bragged a teensy bit about having a solution.

Regular prosthetics of this era are far different, but after applying some of his previous knowledge from his human puppets with magic theory, everything fell into place. 

Nursery Rhyme is one of the first successful cases of his new trade. It made Sasori feel giddy. He made it so she’d be able to channel mana throughout her new hands similar to a chakra network, allowing her to manipulate it easier. 

Sasori’s gaze falls to the broken wood in the corner of his work bench, recalling the wooden prosthetic he worked on weeks ago that he discarded. Now, he had a solution for one of the Chaldea staff members too.

Before he can get to work, there’s a knock at his door. He wordlessly turns back, cracking the door open ajar and peeks through the crack.

“What do you want?” Sasori grunted, gaze lowering to see tufts of red. “Fuuma.”

“.....I wanted to... ask a favor of you.” Kotaro begins carefully.

“Depends on the favor.” Sasori replies coolly. 

“It... has to do with puppets.” Kotaro answers vaguely, keeping his gaze down.

Sasori opens the door wider now, leaning against the door frame.

“Oh?” Sasori’s brown eyes are alight with interest, but they narrow slightly. “And why should it concern me?”

“Master summoned a new ally earlier today, she’s a.... living puppet. We went on a supply run earlier today, but ran into a similar problem like Nursery Rhyme.” Kotaro now looks at him, the curtain of bangs shift, revealing worried red eyes. “Master and I thought it’d be best to ask you, since you specialize with working with them.”

A living puppet. It isn’t much of a strange concept to think of, if he considers what he did to himself. 

“Show me.” Sasori demands, now locking his door and stepping into the hall.

Kotaro nods and gestures for him to follow him.

* * *

When they arrive, Sasori blinks upon entry into Da Vinci’s workshop. Sitting on one of the stools is Katou Danzo, the newly arrived Servant. The name Danzo reminds Sasori of a man from his world barring the same one. His network of spies previously informed him of Danzou Shimura - a man who led an elite force in Konohagakure’s shadows. While he never crossed paths with him, Konan nonchalantly mentioned what a shrewd man he’d been.

The kunoichi is poised at the stool, her body intact aside from one of her arms. Sasori notices intricate wire exposed to the elements. She glances over, giving a quick bow of her head in greeting.

“Da Vinci isn’t here?” Sasori asks, glancing around for the boisterous genius. Kotaro appeared to have mysteriously disappeared too.

“She left moments before you arrived.” Danzo replied. “ Master-dono was injured by the blast, so she went to give her a check up.”

Sasori mutely nods his head, scraping a nearby stool over to inspect her thoroughly. His fingers briefly trace over the metal work, it’s a familiar sensation, not unlike his own puppets. He can see the weapons poking out, and his brow furrowed. There are parts he theorized functioned in tandem with mana.

“Describe to me what occurred.” Sasori ordered, his half lidded gaze flitting across her damaged joint. 

“We ran into an enemy shadow Servant while in Shimousa coordinates.” Danzo recalls, letting out a light sigh. “They were unlike any enemy we’ve taken on.”

Danzo’s entire right arm failed to be rematerialized, it was cut off at the shoulder blade. It was a miracle her Saint Graph was able to maintain itself. Something must have prevented it from reforming, Sasori suspected it could be some type of curse casted during the fight.

“Type of weaponry?” Sasori asked, brow furrowing when seeing something leftover in it.

“...Explosives.” Danzo shifts in the stool, now forlorn. “I took the blow meant for Master-dono; we hadn’t noticed the enemy’s craftiness. It was strangely lucid for a Shadow Servant.”

That got his attention. “...what were the explosives made of?”

“They were.... made from clay. The enemy was able to sculpt them into different forms and detonate them remotely.” Danzou replied, angling her head to look at her joint.

Sasori narrowed his eyes, now prying out the remnants of debris leftover in her shoulder with a scalpel from Da Vinci’s desk. It should have disappeared after the Servant’s defeat, but it didn’t. It wasn’t a lot, but Sasori rolled the leftover clay in his hand, crushing it instantly. It had no form, but the consistency was similar. He only knew one person who worked this way, it couldn’t just be a coincidence.

Sasori raises his head, their eyes finally meeting. 

“I should be able to make a new arm for you within four days, three if you have any knowledge about your creation.” Sasori stated.

“Duly noted.” Danzo nods again, “I’ll come by you later. I appreciate your assistance, Sasori-dono.”

“Think nothing of it.” Sasori rises from the chair, turning away. “Should you need me, I’ll be in my room.”

Sasori shifts into spirit form, leaving Danzo alone.

* * *

Curiosity of his theory led him to find Nursery again, who was together with Jack and attempting to reattach her new limbs. Sasori interrogated her regarding the incident from last week. His suspicions were confirmed, after finding some left over clay in the crevices of her joints after helping her attach her new limbs. The old ones were barely holding themselves together, but once attached her body took to prosthetics and he left her to it.

Sasori ponders about the recent occurrences, they _could_ be coincidental, since there appeared to be a pattern. His allies with synthetically made forms were targeted, while the regular humans remained unscathed. If Deidara- or rather, a shade of his former partner were behind these attacks it’d be unwise to send those with them out on missions. 

When he turned the corner, his head lost in plans to deal with him, someone nearly beheaded him. 

“A-A-Ah! I’m so sorry!!!” A nervous voice cried.

A gigantic mechanical claw ominously looms overhead. It slowly lowers back to the floor, returning to Passionlip’s side. The Alter Ego shifts in place, nearly close to tears over almost killing him. Sasori blinks, shakes his head and goes to move past her, but her large monstrous form blocks the hall.

Far too large to convert into a puppet, Lip made too many unnecessary movements. Everything is too large; Sasori didn’t want anything to do with it. Her extended claws are beautifully made, he gave kudos to BB, but he did not want to be crushed between them.

“I... um!! I heard what you’ve done for Nursery Rhyme..” Lip began, her lower lip quivering.

Sasori keeps an aloof air, observing the girl with an almost dreamy look. Previously, he was interested in both her and Meltlilith and their abilities. But both were far too much trouble than they’re worth.

“What do you want?” Sasori bluntly asks, his tone betraying his neutral expression.

“....Are you going to be mak-making more?” Passionlip averts her gaze, biting the bottom of her lip. A nervous habit, likely.

“If necessary.” Sasori shrugged, now tilting his head. “Have you been injured recently?”

“O-oh...um...” Passion lip looks down at the floor dejectly, eyes looking everywhere but him. She frowns. “N-No. I haven’t.”

“Good.” Sasori is content with her answer. He almost smiles, but remains ever indifferent. “Then why ask when you already have something beautiful?”

Heat rises across Lip’s cheeks, causing her head to shoot up. Tears prickle at the corners of her eyes, she almost looked... ashamed about something.

“It- it’s nothing! Um, I just wanted to ask!” Passionlip stutters, now turning around and lumbers away, and leaving a confused Sasori alone in the hall.

* * *

Sasori doesn’t think much of the incident, instead throwing himself into work. He factored in the necessarly materials after Danzo dropped by again, with some notes written down she recalled. Kotaro did too, instead leaving some of the notes by his door– he appeared to be strangely elusive for some reason. Upon realizing he needed more materials, Sasori left his room to gather more from the supply room.

While on his way back, Sasori sharply turns down the hall and is met with red clouds that float on black fabric. The materials jingle in his hold, but he stops himself before nearly colliding into a former colleague.

Sasori’s internally relieved it’s someone tolerable. 

“One of Chaldea’s workers?” Kakazu’s sharp green eyes scrutinize him.

“Ah, no! They have different uniforms– like yours!” Ritsuka appears at his side, tittering lightly. “Only, they aren’t goth– _Oh!_ Sasori! Workin’ on another project?”

Kakazu’s remains ever indifferent, but Sasori catches him raise a brow. 

Sasori shoots her a look, a small frown forms. “Weren’t you the one who tasked me on this?”

“Oh! Right, right…” Ritsuka nods, then turns back to Kakazu. “I’m assuming you guys know one another? Some of your other friends are here!”

“We’re far from friends, just business partners.” Kakazu grunts. 

“...Hidan and Konan are here.” Sasori casually notes, watching the older man tense, maintaining his usual poker face. Though the corners of his lips threatened to _almost_ smirk. “The girl’s giving you a tour?”

“Not by choice.” Kakazu grumbles, “I could find my way around myself.” 

“It’s all part of regulations.” Sasori replies with a shrug, “you’ll get used to it.”

Kakazu stares at Sasori, then turns away from him. “Doubtful.”

Sasori watches the older man leave Ritsuka behind, who glances between them. She wears an apologetic smile, then runs after him. Readjusting his haul in his arms, he quickly strides down the hallway. Before he turns the corner, a throaty grunt nearby catches his attention. 

“Oi, puppet bastard. Fran’s talkin’ to you.” Another voice calls. Sasori narrows his eyes.

Frankenstein stands beside Mordred, who makes another guttural noise. Mordred glances over to her, appears to understand and then gives him a pointed look.

“I’m busy, make it quick.” Sasori remarks coldly.

Mordred scowls, while Frankenstein lets out a breathy sigh. 

“Lip.” Frankenstein grunts, enunciating each letter. “Hurt.”

“Injured during battle?” Sasori inquires, his aloof mask slipped a smidge.

“God, are all you freaky creators tactless?” Mordred retorts, now giving a huff. 

“You’re one to talk, Mordred.” Sasori replies smoothly, glancing between them. The Knight’s brashness rivaled Deidara’s own, they shared a similar short temper too. “Elaborate, boy.” 

“Hmph. No wonder why you and that string bean get long.” Mordred grumbles, now crossing his arms. “You hurt Lip, you’re lucky Melt hasn’t skewered you into ribbons yet.” 

“No I didn’t.” Sasori denies with a firm shake of his head, brows furrowing.

Fran pouts, making several grunts in succession. Mordred clicks his tongue, and shakes his head. Sasori is amazed that no verbal communication was necessary to understand one another. When the Knight of Treachery looks back over, he sighs.

“No one taught you social cues? You hurt her feelings. Man, you geniuses and no common sense!” Mordred accuses, pointing a finger at him.

Fran appears to be in agreement, mirroring Mordred, and crosses her arms over her chest. She glares at him from beneath her bangs. 

“I called…. her beautiful?” Sasori offers weakly, struggling to recall. He hadn’t paid too much attention.

“She...Monster.” Frankenstein provides with a firm nod. “Be...cause....arms...she feels...like one.” 

Sasori stares, he hadn’t expected the Berserker to speak. 

“I thought you were up to date with everyone, considering you had a information network back when you were alive.” Mordred remarked, frowning. “Looks like you still suck at perceiving others feelings beside your own.”

Sasori inwardly cringed, but remained outwardly impassive. He vaguely remembered reading her updated file a while back, but he dismissed it at the time. 

“Quite human of the both of them,” someone quipped, and the group collectively turned.

Majestic long green hair sways from side to side, while bare feet silently approach. Enkidu appears before them, with a half smile. Sasori recalls they were a doll for the gods, made to reign in Gilgamesh, a monster and puppet who gained a will. 

Fran quietly nods in agreement, while Mordred rubs his neck sheepishly. Enkidu tilts their head, lips curved into a slight smile. 

“Ironic, since she’s supposed to be the more earnest between the Alter Egos.” Sasori comments, and averted his eyes.

“S’probably her inferiority complex, but Fran wants you to talk with her again.” Mordred gives him a stink eye.

“...You want me to further her delusion of not being a monster?” Sasori retorted sharply.

“Not at all. I assume Fran wishes to give her peace of mind,” Enkidu adds with a nod. “We’re all monsters here, whether we like it or not. Besides I’m aware she recognizes this, it may help with her self esteem.” 

Fran smiles letting out a pleased hum, appreciative of Enkidu’s explanation. Sasori would be lying if he didn’t understand the intent. Her massive arms are an integral part of Lip’s identity, she had a complex about her body– of her hands namely. It reminded him of himself and his issues with his own.

With a sigh, Sasori readjusts his haul and scowls.

“Fine.” Sasori concedes, “it’d be bothersome if Meltlilith tears me apart.”

Enkidu looks pleased, as does Mordred. 

“Wow~ I didn’t expect any kindness from your cold beating heart!” An irritating voice chimes in.

Sasori feels his face fall, he really didn’t want to work with _her._ BB prances up to them, a devilish smile lined her lips. 

“Leave it to BB to help you out~” The Moon Cancer announces, purposely pushing herself into the group. Spidery fingers wrap around Sasori’s shoulder blade, giving it a firm squeeze. He couldn’t escape. “Let’s get started, yes, Sasori-kun?”

Sasori narrows his eyes, scowling. “You don’t mean–” 

“We~ll you’re already doing it for others, riiii~iight?” BB leans close, tilting her head. “It would make no difference if you made another!”

* * *

On top of making an arm for Katou Danzo, making Passion Lip entirely new attachable arms becomes a chore in itself. Sasori curses himself for biting off more than he can chew. BB hovered over him every single day– it was kind of hard to ignore. 

Danzo bows when she receives her new arm, he made another one just in case from the notes she provided to him. When he’s on his way to meet with Lip, a blur of orange joins him. He doesn’t need to look over to know who it is.

“Another project?” Ritsuka probes him.

“I understand Robin Hood’s qualms about BB now.” Sasori mutters, holding the packaged arms close to his chest. 

Ritsuka titters lightly, seeming to understand what he meant. When they find Lip, she’s conversing with Frankenstein who acknowledges them first. When Lip finally notices them, she adverts her eyes. 

Wordlessly, Sasori unwraps the prosthetic arms he nearly died over. He watches Lip’s expression freeze, but then tears prickle in her eyes and her lip quivers. Ritsuka is briefly surprised, but the puppeteer doesn’t notice. When Lip attaches her prosthetic arms onto herself, the first she hugs is Sasori, then Frankenstein. 

Sasori feels warmth flutter across his chest, he isn’t sure how to describe it. It’s a complete opposite of his very first failure. Sasori briefly reflects when he failed Komushi, leading him into turning him into a puppet. He desired to help him too, but his efforts had been feared.

All his past failures crawled up from the recesses of his mind, but they’re dismissed by the positivity floating around him from the group. 

And he craved for more of it. 

Bond Level Seven Achieved!

* * *

\Interlude: From One Puppet to Another/

“Phew, guess we had luck on our side, huh?” Ritsuka breathes out a sigh of relief, now leaning against the cavern floor. 

“Hardly.” Sasori scoffs, now moving closer to her. “Come here.”

Ritsuka obeys, scooting closer to Sasori. 

“You could have foolishly gotten yourself killed.” Sasori chides, tugging her arm roughly and pulls her closer.

“O-ow, ow, owhh! You got me!” Ritsuka whines, cringing a bit. “It’s just a scratch though.”

Sasori’s eyes narrow, pulling up the sleeve of her mystic code. Underneath blood caked into her forearm and around her elbow. Clicking his tongue, a harsh hum emits from his hand, enveloping it in green light. He places it over the wound, allowing it to seep in and mend her flesh back together.

Ritsuka bites her bottom lip, shoulders tensing when hearing shouting on the other end of the oulder that now blocked their path. A battle was occurring on the other side, the two sides clashing with intensity.

“He-eey! I told you I was okay!” Ritsuka hissed, now frowning at him. “Don’t over do it!”

Sasori rolls his eyes while he works. “Pot meet kettle.”

Pettily, Ritsuka casts a healing spell over him in rebellion. The healing magic courses through his form, replenishing his energy and healing his wounds from the skirmish. They hadn’t been totally serious either, _what a waste._ When he’s done, Sasori drops her arm and she abruptly takes it back. Ritsuka glances down at her arm, cradling it to her side. 

An explosion goes off on the other side, followed by boisterous laughter. Ritsuka swallows heavily, briefly meeting his gaze.

“Thanks.” Ritsuka quietly said, now feeling up the cavern wall to help herself up. She checks on the communicator, pouting as the holographic image fizzles out. “Looks like we’re still out of range.”

“We have to regroup.” Sasori said, now standing beside her. Ritsuka nods in agreement and glances down the tunnel. “There should be another path to connect us with the previous way we took. Stay close to me.”

They remain close together, slowly meandering down the dark halls. The fighting was getting farther away, but both of them knew they’d have to return to it. They had remained silent, the ambiance of dripping water occasionally dripping inside.

The Third Kazekage remained close by, he was their ever present silent guardian. Sasori would ensure her safety; they would return, without fail.

* * *

Intuition previously led Sasori to reach out to Da Vinci, regarding his restlessness over something. That something led to exploring the world of Shimousa, or at least, the coordinates to one similar to the one Ritsuka travelled to. Not even soon after, the alarm bells sounded off and they headed to the cliff side where Oni roamed.

They had been sent as a clean up crew, to eliminate hostile enemies. But one thing led to another, chasing them near a mountain similar to the one Ritsuka faced the Rider and Berserker of the Remnant and entered through the side.

What lay inside were two things: a part of the false Orochi and a familiar shadow who weaseled himself into this dimension. 

Orochimaru tended to slither into places where he didn’t belong, this world included. But when they found him, he had merged with the snake monster, because his own form was barely holding itself together in this reality, it was a similar case with Madara almost.

When questioned about his summoning, the bastard only smiled devilishly, and his neck extended and shot up— and attempted to bite into Ritsuka’s neck.

Sasori’s body moved on its own, chakra strings latching themselves onto her to bring her closer. He grabbed hold immediately, diving for a nearby entrance. Orochimaru’s neck zigzagged, in an attempt to follow but was stopped by the collapsing boulders overhead that closed off the entrance.

Neither of them know how much time has passed since then, the communication service was terrible.

Sasori’s gait slows in pace, coming to a halt. Ritsuka bumps right into him, making an indescribable noise. 

“Some warning would’ve been nice.” Ritsuka muttered from behind.

“What difference would it make?” Sasori’s voice falls low, but he doesn’t face her. “Complaining won't do us any good.”

The puppeteer could practically see Ritsuka roll her eyes. 

“Did you sense something?” Ritsuka inquires, now looking over his shoulder down the dim corridor. 

“No...not yet.” Sasori mutters, “get off.”

“Can’t you sense anyone with his Sand?” Ritsuka asks, who's looking at the back of the Third Kazekage. “Ya know, like that one guy you killed.”

“No.” Sasori’s tone is blunt, precise, not wasting any breath for any other trivialities. “I do not possess the same synchronization with it.”

Sasori heard many tales of Gaara, before and after they captured and stole the Shukaku from him. He was special, being a jinchuriki, the sand he controlled became a second layer of skin. He observes Ritruka in the dim light, watching her surveying the corridor with sharp eyes. It betrayed her usual carefree demeanor. 

“Too bad.” Ritsuka frowned with a pout. “if you could, maybe we could find a wall to smash through.”

“And cause a collapse in the ceiling?” Sasori shoots back, scrutinizing her. “How childish.”

“We won’t know until we try though!” Ritsuka exclaims back, not missing a beat. “I thought you were the type to all for new ideas?”

“Reasonable ideas, not foolish ones.” Sasori chided. “Why is that you’re always attempting to off yourself?”

Ritsuka doesn’t answer that, prompting Sasori to look at her. She doesn’t look visibly upset, like he expected. Instead, it appears ... thoughtful almost, like she had a revelation.

“Is that.... why you let your Granny kill you?” Ritsuka asked quietly. 

“What?” Sasori is dumbfounded, but his typical poker face crumbles into frustration and irritation. “How does that even matter now..”

“You wanted to die, right?” Ritsuka rephrased her question. “That’s why you did something so reckless, during your fight.”

Sasori’s irritation simmers into minor annoyance now. Was she trying to relate to him? _Now_ , of all times? Ritsuka really is strange. She wasn’t wrong though, not entirely. It had been a whim to let them succeed, because the times were changing and people like him weren’t necessary. A broken tool was useless, especially when it couldn’t be fixed. 

Their fight would forever be ingrained in him. It began to change him, before he perished the first time.

Sasori heard of the phenomenon from Medea, about how it was possible for Servants to unconsciously share dreams with their Master containing snippets of their lives. He pondered if it ever happened in reverse. 

“It was a whim.” Sasori vaguely replies. “But I felt it was time, my existence felt empty....I already failed.”

He scoffs. “But this isn’t about me, girl. Why do you continue to play a fool?”

“...Isn’t it easier this way?” Ritsuka asks sheepishly. “Besides, you already made clear what you want our relationship to be like.”

 _Hmph. Do not bother to try my patience, I do not want to become friends with you._ It felt so long ago to Sasori, he almost felt detached to his wavering past self. 

“...I did.” Sasori nods, poker face reassembling itself. “...but I’ve learned ... it’s impossible to become a puppet fully; why do you bother striving to become one?”

Ritsuka laughs quietly, amused clearly at his comparison. Yet it’s hollow, it quickly dies in her throat, stifled soon after.

“Only you would make that comparison.” Ritsuka huffs, averting her gaze. “A little on the nose, hm?”

Ritsuka doesn’t wait for him to respond, instead taking the initiative. 

“You try appeasing Heroic Spirits,” Ritsuka joked with a chuckle, but her eyes grow somber. “I want to feel needed, necessary, because in the grand scheme of things I can never compare to all of you. I can’t provide a lot of help and even with what I do it was never by my design.”

“Then who are you, Fujimaru Ritsuka?” Sasori inquires, raising a brow.

“Just a nobody who had enough luck to keep herself alive for this long.” Ritsuka replied, “Hah, but I guess that luck ran out…I cannot be any less of perfection, otherwise– what happens when I’m not needed…? It won’t matter when I’ll be dismissed from Chaldea…..” 

“Humans are imperfect from the beginning.” Sasori notes dryly, “you’ll never be perfect.”

“Wow, really hitting me where I hurt?” Ritsuka chuckled, sounded mockingly offended. 

“I too, was a people pleaser, look where it got me.” Sasori scoffed, “and I lost sight of myself. But someone came to question my morals, who left me bemused.”

“The… person who killed you?” Ritsuka carefully inquires. 

“She beat it into me.” Sasori snorted. “She was quite interesting, defying all exceptions for shinobi– she lashed out, was emotional, and somehow formed a bond in a short amount of time with my grandmother and felt for me, _an enemy nin._ I’d never met anyone like her before.” 

Ritsuka doesn’t say a word, Sasori glances over to her. 

“Your act is pathetic.” The insult slipped easily off his tongue, “you need not become an emotionless doll, it’d be an insult to your character. We share a partnership, you’d be useless to me so I expect you to hold up your end too and rely on the others.”

“Wow, what an indirect way to say you care!” Ritsuka chuckles, but it dissipates, she looks away. Quietly mumbling. “But….thanks Sasori.”

As they travel down the tight corridor, there’s a flicker in the shadow and Sasori flicks at his wrists and the Third Kazekage unhinges his jaw allowing the Iron Sand to leak out. The sand shots into the dark and they hear someone familiar yell. When they get closer, Hidan is pierced through his abdomen and he’s grumbling. 

“Seriously? The hell puppet freak!” Hidan swears, now pointing to him accusingly. “I came all the way out, to look for ya–”

“Save it Hidan.” Sasori deflects, another hand wave and the sand’s form dissolves, returning to its mist-like state. “Report on what’s occurring?”

Another body flickers nearby, approaching them.

“The battle’s getting a little out of hand.” Chiyome said, who strides forward with confidence. “Master-dono! How are you feeling?”

“I’m good.” Ritsuka reassures, “Sasori healed me.” 

Chiyome casts a side eye at Sasori then gestures for them to follow.

“We better hurry, something unexpected happened. The more forces the better.” Chiyome urged, now heading back. 

Hidan grunted, saddened about the latest unnecessary wound and stalked after her. Sasori exchanged a glance with Ritsuka, he could only imagine what happened. It didn’t make him feel any better and they followed at their heels.

* * *

Upon returning to the previous room, Sasori watches his teammates trade blows with the enemy. It appeared the back up team was called to the frontlines, which meant they were being overwhelmed. Ritsuka squeezes herself between them to get a better look at the ongoing fight and gasps. The group remained hidden from view, for the moment.

“What are they?” Ritsuka whispered.

“Ya could imagine how I felt when I saw Zetsu was here!” Hidan exclaimed, scowling, leaning his scythe on his shoulder. 

They watch the Cursed Arm and Hundred Faces fly, dancing gracefully through the air. The air crackles with electricity and Raikou tears through more, but they keep coming, emerging forth from what appears as nothingness. But something doesn’t seem entirely right about this situation. Nearby, Morarity is keeping them on their toes and he glances over his shoulder and gives them a frown.

“Took you long enough to find them!” Morarity accused, pointing his cane at him..

“We got lost!” Hidan shouted, baring his teeth.

Kakazu appeared nearby, the Lancer summoned forth his hearts, each pulverizing the next. His eyes narrow toward Hidan, unfazed.

“Knew you were too stupid to retrieve them.” Kakazu remarked. 

“At least we found them!” Hidan grumbled, grinding his teeth..

“Hey gramps! Have you figured anything out?” Ritsuka asked, closing the distance between her and the Archer. 

The wind whips up and paper scatters, cutting through the White Zetsu’s bodies. It prevented five of them from jumping into their group. Konan flies above and dives back into another hoard.

“It appears this Orochimaru fellow acquired a shard of a Grail upon being brought here.” Moriarty began, now lowering his cane sword. “After you two separated from us, these white monsters emerged from the crevices of the ceiling!”

“We hadn’t encountered any on our way over.” Sasori said, narrowing his eyes. “But it appears that this hoard is a problem.”

“Indeed. They keep multiplying.” Kakazu mutters, “it’s become difficult to even get closer to Orochimaru.”

“Have they spilled anything else?” Chiyome asked, frowning.

“Something about being brought from another world and time period.” Morarity mentioned, “since you’re acquainted with him, I’m sure you know of his methods?”

“We were partners for a time, so yes.” Sasori replied, “he’s a sly bastard, he might have another trick up his sleeve.”

“So we don’t know who summoned him here?” Ritsuka asks.

“No. He mentioned fusing with the remnants of the shades of the Orochi. Nothing new. ” Kakazu said. “It is troublesome.”

“The Plant like enemies are tied to the shard of the Grail, so we have to retrieve it.” Morarity concludes, “any fresh ideas?”

Sasori looked over to Ritsuka, then sighs. He grabs his scroll for the Third and returns his prized puppet back into it. 

“My Noble Phantasm may be able to keep them occupied, or at least help dwindle the numbers.” Sasori suggested.

“I don’t see why not,” Chiyome agreed, “have they found out what class that person is?”

“Ironically, Ruler,.” Morarity frowned. “Amakusa discerned the Class before falling back to Chaldea, hence why we’ve called upon some of the Avengers.”

As if on cue, a howl shakes the cavern walls prompting them to look at the battle taking place between Lobo and Gorgon against Orochi’s lingering shade. 

“Anything from Zetsu?” Sasori asks, “intelligible?”

“Nothing worth mentioning.” Kakazu shakes his head, “but I assume it’s linked to the near destruction of our former world.”

Moriarty scrutinizes them, then claps his hands. “Enough theories for now! You seem to be well acquainted with these people so do you have any intel regarding them?”

“Orochimaru can transplant a part of himself into someone by biting them. Most of his jutsu involve snakes, but he’s also capable of summoning the dead as well. If Zetsu tastes any of your blood, he can shapeshift into you, so don’t get injured.” Sasori recalled from the memories Merlin gave him. “Anyway, I’ll give you some cover.”

There’s a spike in Sasori’s power, it wraps around his form. He ascends, clothes disappearing in a blink of an eye leaving him bare for his teammates to see. Elongated metal fans grow from his back, and more scrolls stack up his spine. His puppet joints rattle as he readjusts himself in this form, prior to this mission he had gone to Da Vinci, and she was the only one who saw. She appeared almost impressed, if not for some criticisms she made regarding it.

Ritsuka sharply inhales, eyes wide. Chiyome narrows her eyes, while Kakazu looks unfazed. Hidan gaps like a fish in his new form, watching as the metal cord where his stomach should be unravel, slowly uncoiling and raising him up in the air. Moriarty’s expression is unreadable, but he clearly appeared amused.

“What the actual fu-“ Hidan shouts, but he’s hit over the head by Chiyome.

It gets the attention of the approaching feral Zetsu, who tries to jump after him. But Sasori swiftly opens up a scroll, raises his hands and unleashes fire burning them to a crisp. As their ashes fall, Ritsuka steels herself, not wanting to waste a minute longer.

“Kakazu and Gramps! Help me cover Sasori!” Ritsuka commands, both older men appear to agree. She turns to Chiyome and Hidan, “Chiyome and Hidan- you run off and tell the others of our plan!”

With a wave of her hand, Ritsuka casts a healing spell onto Hidan. Hidan grunts, twirling his scythe and begrudgingly obeys. Chiyome goes off in the opposite direction. Kakazu and Moriarty flank Sasori’s sides and the puppeteer takes a deep breath. 

Sasori balances himself on the metal cord, watching as the battle carries out. At the end of the cavern, his eyes meet with Orochimaru’s serpent-like head. He watches the monster swipe at the Avengers who narrowly dodge and attempt to advance at him. However, thunder claps and the lightning crackles off of Raikou’s blade, her clones working in tandem to prevent the advancement. She’s followed by Shuten and Ibaraki, with Sanson not too far behind. The beast roars and attempts to swipe at them again only to be stunned by Kotaro and Danzo.

Swiping the scroll from his back, Sasori throws it above his head. He recalls briefly of his dance back in Avalon, a manic grin spreads across his lips. 

“How pathetic, you think you’re able to stop me? Witness the cumulation of my art, an unforgettable performance to be recalled for _eons!”_ Sasori chants, the power he stored leaking out of his form. “ _Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!_ ”

His puppets fly out from the scroll, it daintily falls below at Ritsuka’s feet. He opens up his chest compartment, and chakra strings shoot out, attaching themselves onto all 100 of them. Hiruko and the Third Kazekage join his brigade, and they spread out across the cavern, attacking the Zetsu mercilessly. Some of them perish against the aliens, but it doesn’t matter since he’d be able to remake them. 

“He truly is like a matryoshka doll!” Moriarty chuckles aloud, grinning.

“Have you ever seen this before, Kakazu?” Ritsuka asks, turning to the other aloof man. 

“No.” Kakazu’s replies briefly, narrowing his eyes to the enemy. His hand shot out, digging into the earth and tugged out a slew of Zetsu hiding beneath. The threads in his arm pierced through and tore them apart. “These trivialities mean nothing to me.”

During the fighting, Kotaro gasps, watching one of the puppets slam into the enemy in front of him. When he glances over, he sees Sasori and Ritsuka in the distance and feels relief. Someone brushes past him, prompting him to attack, but he stops when he sees Konan materialize in front of him. 

“Leave the Zetsu to Sasori.” Konan stated, parts of her face folding back into place. “Master’s orders. We’re going to defeat Orochimaru.” 

“Roger that.” Kotaro said, then follows after her when she takes flight again. 

Most of the fighting begins to dwindle, prompting Sasori and Ritsuka to get closer to the final battle. They’re soon joined by the Hassans participating in support, who cover their back as they close the distance between them and Orochimaru. Most of the Zetsu have disappeared giving their allies time to get a breather. 

Raikou doesn’t stop, however– she continuously cuts through his scales. Orochimaru hisses and swipes at her, prompting her to backflip away. Once everyone is together, the serpent raises a brow toward them.

“Ahhh, if it isn’t Sasori, I figured that wasn’t enough to kill you.” Orochimaru drawled, head rising higher to look down upon them. “You’ve acquired more pawns now, hmm? I’m surprised you haven’t betrayed them yet.”

“I knew I should have killed you when I got the chance.” Sasori ignored him, looking mildly annoyed. “Your poison will be useful to me, once I drain it all out.”

“Seems you have another brightly clad annoyance amongst your ranks.” Orochimaru hissed, lashing his tail out at them. 

The group of Servants dodge, with Ibaraki grabbing ahold of Ritsuka. The Master stumbles a bit, now looking directly at the snake.

“It’s all a part of my charm!” Ritsuka retorted with a grin. 

Orochimaru spews out a poisonous mist at the group, but the group once again jumps away from it. Lobo begins to growl, then charges forward, while the Hessian prepares his scythe. When the blade connects, fire dances across prompting Orochimaru to bat the wolf king away. Lobo is thrown at Gorgon who manages to narrowly dodge, making use of her mystic eyes.

It stuns Orochimaru briefly, prompting the team of Servants to attack consecutively. Kakazu’s Hearts barrage his skull, followed by Raikou who sends waves of electricity throughout the body. When attempting to attack again, the thick smell of sake wafts through the air– stunning him once more. When Orochimaru wiggles free from the stun, his gaze meets with Sanson who offers him a lazy smile.

“Sweet dreams, may you be at peace.” Sanson said, and the blade of the guillotine slices through his neck, beheading him. “La Mort Espoir!”

Orochimaru’s serpent head rolls across the cavern floor, the piece of the grail falls out. Although fading away, the Sannin begins to chuckle. 

“My, my…..truly unexpected, Servants are something else.” Orochimaru mused, now looking directly at Sasori. “You…. are much different from before.”

Sasori drops down and kicks his head, watches him owlishly, “You’ve always talked too much.” 

“Heh. Perhaps...it shall be beneficial to you?” Orochimaru drawled, “ or perhaps it’s because you aren’t of my world… hm.”

“Who summoned you?” Sasori cuts him off, glaring. “Uchiha Madara?”

“So you’ve met him? Hah, no– you should already know who the perpetrator is.” Orochimaru laughed at him, “ our worlds have been entwined for a long...time…”

The light leaves Orochimaru’s eyes, now going limp, ensuring a secured victory. Sasori remains silent, removes a vial from his pants pocket and hurries to secure the poison from the fangs remnants before it fades away.

“Ah, finally~” A familiar voice cuts in, sighing with relief. “Wait, there was a grail involved!?”

Upon turning toward them, Sasori watches as the holographic image of Mashu springs to life. Ritsuka’s already filling the other in, causing him to sigh. Once finished, Sasori returns back to his human form, and turns back to his comrades.

When Ritsuka turns to him, she pauses, then offers him a tiny smile. In exchange, Sasori nods quietly and acknowledges her. As Chaldea begins calling them back, Sasori’s thoughts wander back to the words Orochimaru left him with.

If not Madara pulling the strings, then who could it be? Sasori digs deeper into the memories Merlin provided him with, attempting to trigger the memory. Kaguya was the one who started this whole fiasco, Madara was one of the many puppets used and abandoned. 

Sasori feels his chest heave, his forehead now creasing at his revelation.

Zetsu had been the one manipulating events in the shadows, he was the true puppet master behind the grand scheme of things. But how did Zetsu gain entry to _Merlin’s_ world in the first place? None of the Zetsu present here had given his allies any information regarding it, which left him with more questions. 

When he looks over to Ritsuka, she’s staring at him as their bodies begin to fade from this realm. There’s a flash of concern, as if saying _: Is something wrong?_

With a brief shake of his head, Sasori waves off the concern. There was a lot he needed to think about.

Bond Level Eight Achieved!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! It's been awhile since I updated. Nonetheless, I hope all you have been well during these times!! Additionally, during this time away I've been also drawing some key events and I'll be putting them over @ tadanomarz on tumblr, check it! Thanks for sticking with me for this long, I'm glad some of you have enjoyed the events going on. I also decided to split my chapters again up, considering how long Bond 7/8 got, which means it'll be the last two bond levels until we get to end game!! Also note, I may have some other things in store for the future, so look forward to it~
> 
> * * *
> 
> STATS  
> Strength: C Endurance B  
> Agility B+ Mana A  
> Luck B NP B+ > A


	7. Invisible Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasori goes through some past hangups, helps with a play and competes in a tournament. Typical Chaldea shenanigans.
> 
> At least he's a little happier now.

Since returning back to Chaldea, Sasori has kept himself busy, begrudgingly offering his services to the rest of the staff. One of the members from the Robotics divisions asked him to join them and he accepted.

Robots are different kinds of puppet, they aren’t as light and hollow akin to his wooden ones. However, with Sasori’s help, they’ve made great strides with prosthetic limbs, ones the remaining staff and Servants could potentially use. Sasori supposes his life’s work was beneficial for _something._

Caster Servants truly are something else. Sasori envies them because they’re able to create a magic workshop. It’d make the process of making prosthetics and puppets faster. He’s been breaking up his weekly schedule into even smaller chunks now, slowly breaking out of his metaphorical shell since the Orochimaru incident. 

And as promised, Sasori comes to visit with Medea often. The woman has divulged some information about her hobbies, which ironically had to do with puppets. Or, figurines as she corrected him. She makes them herself, crafted lovingly by hand and he leans back watching her work. Given how busy he was, he hadn’t noticed how much time flew between then and now. 

Another Sub-Singularity emerged from the shadows, throwing Ritsuka into a place called Salem. They were still trying to unravel Salem’s secrets, so many of the other Servants were placed on standby. 

A knock startles both Medea and Sasori and the door opens immediately.

“There you are, O Great Puppeteer!” William Shakesphere cries in joy and extends his hand. “My fellow and I have been at great lengths searching for you!”

“There’s a door for a reason!” Medea snaps, grinding her teeth together. “what the hell do you want?”

“ We request the services of Sasori!” Shakespeare begins. Sasori raises a brow.

“We?” Sasori repeats, now lifting himself off another chair. His gaze scrutinizes Shakesphere’s face, then gradually lowers and spots an atrocity causing him to scowl. “No. _Definitely not._ ”

Anderson appears from behind Shakesphere, standing beside him. He tilts up his chin, looking down upon them.

“We wish to make a play.” Anderson announces, “and need your help to make puppets.”

“What?” Sasori is dumbfounded by the incredulity of the situation. “And if I say no?”

“Do you truly want to sadden the children who reside here?” Anderson challenges, offering him the most sickeningly pitiful expression.

“Yes. I do.” Sasori replies and now stands up. “Get the hell out.”

Anderson remains stubborn, but a smirk crawls onto his lips. Sasori knew how Anderson utilized it, since it was when the writer felt the need to use things against anyone.

“The Master thought it’d be a good idea as well, to help a newcomer get settled in.” Anderson explained. “Between Da Vinci and yourself, I’m sure you’d be able to make countless puppets to entertain them.” 

“They’ve returned?” Medea stands immediately, attention now on them. “Is my Aunt amongst them?”

“Lady Circe?” Shakesphere blinks, but shakes his head, he breathes out a deep sigh with a dramatic flourish of his hand. “Alas, she was not among those who returned…..” 

“Have they all returned?” Sasori interrupts.

“...Not all of them, which is why we wished to put on a performance.” Anderson replied, “I’ve heard Sanson perished during the Singularity.”

A part of Sasori knew this could happen, but he feels numb. It was guaranteed any Servant may be defeated in battle, but could be resummoned since their Saint Origin was registered into Chaldea’s database. And yet… he feels his stomach drop.

“...The newcomer?” Medea inquires curiously. 

“The source of the singularity: Abigail Williams.” Anderson replies. “She was summoned immediately after the Master returned back.” 

The room lapses into an uncomfortable silence. There’s a beat, then Sasori groans.

“Fine.” Sasori concedes with a sigh, clearly exasperated. “I’ll assist, but do not keep me waiting, your deadlines will be _strict_.” 

Anderson grins, the smug bastard. Sasori’s been caught in his trap. Shakesphere laments over the deadlines, however.

“Good, good! You’re to come immediately!” Anderson’s voice booms,, swivels around and leaves as quickly as he arrived.

“Do come while our muse lasts!” Shakesphere called, bidding them farewell with a dramatic bow and followed Anderson at his heels. 

The door clicks behind them, while Medea gives Sasori a pitying look. 

* * *

Monzaemon Chikamatsu is a name Sasori knows far too well. However, in this world’s history, he never crafted puppets for battle. Instead he was a playwright, using them only for entertainment. 

There was a time too when Sasori watched puppets dance on the Playhouse’s stage in elaborate garments, but he blocked out the memories. He vaguely recalls Chiyo brought him to the Playhouse back in Suna, likely in an attempt to soothe his loneliness. But when he looks at his hands, smeared in nothing but blood and poison, he wonders if he’s even worthy of such a task. 

Or worth his growing headache. 

Anderson and Shakespeare were bickering amongst themselves, due to Sasori outlining an exact deadline for them. Anderson desired a comedy, while Shakespeare willed for a tragedy- but Medea, exasperated by the duo yelled at them to reconsider. The writers were looking to experiment too, drawing inspiration from Noh plays. Chikamatsu had come up often, inspiring bunraku plays where the stage only showed puppets.

After a while, Sasori deliberately exited Anderson’s room, leaving behind the shouting from the two writers. He thumbs through the list of supplies necessary, namely wood and lacquer, to make puppets out of. That’s how he found himself in the library, nursing a pressure headache. Fishing out the spine of a book on Chikamatsu, he completes a stack of books to one of the many wooden tables. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasori spots Konan with the children and Marie Antoinette and Osakabakahime. She seemed to form an unofficial club over the last couple of weeks they’ve been assimilated into Chaldea’s family. They briefly met each other's gaze, but Sasori instead stepped out of the library. 

Upon stepping outside, Sanson is nearby accompanied by an unfamiliar face. Supposedly, Sanson forgot what occurred in Salem, but remembered his memories in Chaldea. The young girl with him smiles shyly and nods her head, running past him into the library. 

“Sasori.” Sanson calls, now moving closer, wearing a slight smile. “Busy as usual?”

“Yes.” Sasori confirms, now looking up at him. “That was?”

“Abigail Williams.” Sanson confirms, “we were summoned within a few hours of one another, supposedly Master met her during a recent Singularity.”

Abigail Williams is the girl Anderson and Shakesphere wished for make a play for, if he wasn’t mistaken. The footage taken was still being processed, he needed to take a look.

“Sasori?” Sanson calls, shaking him from his thoughts. “Is something the matter?”

“It’s nothing.” Sasori deflects, “just thinking about work. If you’d excuse me.”

Sasori sharply turns away from Sanson, who he considered a friend, leaving him alone in the hall. A friend who came back from the grave, whose memories were stolen from him. 

It was so easy to come back, especially with Chaldea’s technology.

Sasori wonders why he wanted any shred of his humanity back anyway, when the annoying pain in his chest spreads. 

* * *

Crafting puppets for entertainment purposes comes rather slowly. Sasori has to resist the urge to incorporate weapons into them. Creating elaborate fabrics for them wasn’t a part of his skill set, considering his battle puppets wore more versatile and simpler clothing. He’s sought help from Da Vinci and Medea to assist.

An indescribable feeling has vexed him the last couple of days. It led him to visit Jekyll, who merely stared at him and bit back a laugh.

“You’re feeling nostalgic.” Jekyll replies, “it’s normal to feel this.”

“It’s bothersome.” Sasori grumbled, “I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Does it upset you?” Jekyll inquires, “what spurred this on?”

“....Puppetry.” Sasori slowly replies, “I’m sure you’ve heard of those annoying bastards commissioning me.”

Jekyll chuckles, wearing a half smile.

“Well, with them I can understand. I heard you’re making puppets for a play?” Jekyll asks.

“Indeed.” Sasori crosses his arms. “Although neither of those idiots have settled on an idea for it.”

Jekyll merely nods, but smiles sadly. “But that isn’t the real reason you’re upset, is it?”

“It’s made me consider changing my beliefs.” Sasori vaguely answers. “Being immersed in this environment has been detrimental to me- an annoyance. However, it admittingly has its benefits....”

Jekyll doesn’t comment on his hypocrisy, instead smiles.

“Well you’re surrounded by heroes, after all.” Jekyll chuckles, now taking a sip of his tea. 

“Hah. Annoying ones at that.” Sasori scoffs, now meeting the doctor’s gaze whose eyes blend between green and red. “But I’ve realized how fleeting one's life really is... and what one tries to achieve in that short time.” 

There’s a pause, where Sasori sharply inhales.

“I’ve gone through the records regarding Sanson.” Sasori finally admits, while Jekyll remains quiet with bated breath. “His sacrifice... was foolish.”

“You’re torn on how to feel about it?” Jekyll asks, watching him slowly nod. “Everyone grieves differently, it had been a shock to see him resummoned so quickly. But I wouldn’t call his sacrifice foolish, rather, admirable.”

“He has nothing else to hide, he was able to face his demons.” Sasori adds, “it truly was a cathartic release.”

Another beat, Sasori sighs.

“I’ve thought I’ve come to terms with my own mortality, but it appears to be the opposite.” Sasori sighs, running a hand through his hair. 

Sasori notices a change in air, watching Jekyll’s posture shift, now hunched over.

“Well, you’re human- so ought to confront it as one. It’s complex, ain’t it? Mortality.” Jekyll breaks from all decorum, accompanied by a lazy smile. “‘Sides, you’ve all the time in the world now, don’t ya?”

“I never expected to hear anything well thought out from you, Hyde.” Sasori quipped, causing the Berserker to chuckle.

“Well, guess the cat’s outta the bag.” Hyde reclined back in his seat. “It’s not like ya thought too hard when ya killed people.”

“That’s different.” Sasori denied, “I just—“

“Personal hang ups? Mate, we all got em, sheesh. “ Hyde scoffed, “take it from us, ya won’t make any differences unless ya stop fearing it. Dumbass Jekyll does the saaaaame damn thing. ‘Dunno, go talk with Mr. Goody Two shoes or something, tell him you love him or whatever sappy heart wrenching thing you can lay on him. It’s not like ya can stay stuck self wallowing in pity forever.”

Sasori opens his mouth, then closes it.

“Again: I did not expect anything from you, but you’re more knowledgeable than I thought you were.. “Sasori deadpans. “

“Nobody does!” Hyde exclaims, but laughs loudly. “Go get human interactions, puppet man. It’ll do you some good.”

Sasori abruptly stands up, then turns because he was a fool to actually complement this idiot.

* * *

Anderson and Shakesphere’s play is hardly original, but it draws from inspiration from the NightHawk Star. They barely make their deadline too, so in the final stretch, Sasori hovered over them, exuding a killer aura. With that finished, it allowed for him to get to work.

Much like the Salem singularity, there would be volunteers to play the part. Sasori was in charge with coordinating the birds from the sidelines, while the volunteers would stand beside them for their speaking roles. 

As he was crafting the wings for the nighthawk, a light knock resounded from his door. 

“I’ve no time for trivial affairs.” Sasori announced, “go away.”

“It’s me!” Ritsuka’s familiar voice calls. “I wanted to come check up on you.”

Without sparing a glance, Sasori lets out a resigned sigh, casting a chakra string over toward the door to open it. 

Ritsuka stumbles inside, approaching him from behind. Sasori doesn’t bother to turn around as he continues to tinker with the puppet.

“Hard at work, eh?” Ritsuka asks, now peering over his shoulder.

Sasori wordlessly nods, casting his strings onto the wooden puppet. He raises his fingers, stretching them and watches as the wing unfolds. The joints creak as they open up then close however he notices a minute issue appear. Ritsuka remains silent, watching the puppet bird go limp in his hands.

“I hadn’t imagined this to become a puzzle.” Sasori mused aloud, now tinkering with the wings again. “To think a hoard of them in two weeks is ridiculous.”

“Think of it this way, at least you’ll be a master at making birds!” Ritsuka said with a chuckle, watching him narrow his eyes. “ Have you ever made bird puppets before?”

“No.” Sasori shakes his head, his brow raises, noticing something odd; he grabs a tool to loosen part of the wing. “Aside from my human ones, there were others.”

“Ohh?” Ritsuka leans closer, forever the constant learner. “What kinds were there?”

“Most are humanoid in shape, the beginners typically start with snake-like ones.” Sasori recounts listlessly, “Before I left I had three puppets I’d use called Crow, Black Ant and Salamander.”

“Oh! So you _have_ made birds!” Ritsuka exclaimed, but watched him shake his head.

“Weren’t you listening? I haven’t. Crow and Black Ant resemble humans, more or less. Salamander resembled its namesake more.” Sasori grumbled, looking unimpressed. 

“Where are they now?” Ritsuka asked, “they didn’t break, did they?”

“Not exactly. Puppets can be rebuilt as many times necessary.” Sasori explained, now setting the wing of the bird back on the workbench. “...They’re actually in safe hands, with a younger puppeteer who inherited them.”

“Ah, that must be nice!” Ritsuka said with a grin. “Did you grow up with ‘em?”

“No. I found out because we fought one another and beat him.” Sasori flashed her a crooked smile, watching Ritsuka’s expression fall. “I left the old things back in my hometown, so whoever ran the puppet brigade likely gave them to him. His name is Kankarou, the former jinchuriki’s brother. I entrusted him with them.”

“Wait, hold on– hooooold on, what d’ya mean by that?” Ritsuka gasped, feigning her surprise. “ You just, just beat him up and let them have them?!?”

“No, I left him for dead. You’re surprised about _that_?” Sasori said, brows furrowing. “We’ve fought twice– once after I kidnapped his brother, the second after I was reanimated. I allowed it during the second one.”

“That sounds _crazy_.” Ritsuka replied. Sasori gave her a judging look. “What’s with the face?”

“....You say that, but your own quests have been nothing but ludicrous.” Sasori deadpanned. He turned back to his work, expanding the wing once again, he inspected the ridges he implemented. 

“So you were...brought back to life.” Ritsuka carefully asked, causing Sasori to snort.

“Yes, not by choice.” Sasori flippantly recounted, “Though, I did enjoy the benefits, nothing could truly destroy the body, even after the caster died; it was immortal, I didn’t have to worry about death.”

“Sounds sketchy.” Ritsuka quipped, “you _were_ involved with a lot of that, weren’t you?”

“I _was_ a villain, after all. A criminal. Did you forget? Sasori shot back, narrowing his eyes back at her. “Are you done?”

“Mmmmm…..nope!” Ritsuka said with a laugh, which seemed genuine. “How d’ya feel about the play?”

“Dread.” Sasori intoned. “If you mean the script, it’s….not bad? Although, I’m not a writer, my art is completely different from those imbeciles.”

“I hope it’ll make Abby feel a little better.” Ritsuka said, “or...at least the part of her that resides here.”

“Time will tell.” Sasori responds vaguely, and allows for his puppet to stretch again. He watched it extend its wings and flap out. A contented smile spread across his lips. “ _Ah_ , finally.”

“You make a breakthrough?” Ritsuka asked, eyes brightening. She jumps up from his bed, heading to the door. “I’ll leave you to it, don’t forget to eat~ I can’t wait to see what the night hawk looks like!”

Ritsuka lets herself out, the door closing behind her leaving him alone again. Setting the wing down, he stands up to inspect it. He needed to compose the body and attach the wing on, but he was able to make a breakthrough, which left about ten other birds.

* * *

The play commences, despite many initial setbacks. Although, Sasori feels compelled to detach his head and let it roll to dispel the headache. They roped a few Servants to play the roles, with the younger Medusa to play the Nighthawk. While Mozart, Sanson and the Phantom begrudgingly assisted with composing the music to set the atmosphere. Nursery Rhyme, Konan and Medea assisted with crafting the props while he handled the puppets. Da Vinci pitched in with the outfits, which she had to argue with the writers with.

In between practice, they had to thwart off Spartacus over his concerns of oppressors. Sasori excused himself during that period. 

As they performed, Sasori allowed his bird puppets to flutter beside the actors and actresses representing their voices. His chakra strings hardly could be seen from the bright light shining down on the stage. It had been akin to a Noh play, almost– after much research the two writers did. There was a kyogen act in between, as the Nighthawk visited the stars, lightening the heaviness of the original. 

Sasori had mixed feelings for the Nighthawk, who sacrificed himself. While he respected his resilience, he did not want to be known but ironically did by becoming a star. He was too weak, allowing himself to the threats. He would have never wanted to go out like that– but the Nighthawk was still remembered.

Countless others sacrificed themselves as well, without any needless violence. It reminded Sasori almost of what Sanson did during the singularity, giving himself up to divert attention on Ritsuka. The Nighthawk became a star under the sky, while Sasson became a light to pave their way to escape. Sasori absentmindedly wondered if Chaldea’s influence was starting to affect him. 

Abigail Williams sat in the center of the audience, starry eyed as the performance drew to a close. When the makeshift curtain drew on the actors, the crowd began to applause. Those involved then came forth, with Medea dragging Sasori to the front, stepping out into the limelight.

The sensation of holding hands, of sharing an intimate bond scared him. Being a human and being a Servant were two different things, but their lives could be stolen in an instance. But as they took a bow, Sasori was glad he was summoned into these faraway lands. 

He couldn’t manipulate others' lives, it brought no fulfillment to him now, only sadness. But with his puppets, not only can he protect, but also bring a small amount of happiness to another. His fingers twitch and the bird puppets come to life, now flying above the stage.

Bond Level Nine Achieved!

* * *

The holidays are close by, meant for celebration. Many were set on preparations because they knew the end was drawing near, doing everything for their last hurrah. However, in the midst of preparations, an unexpected visitor stumbled into Chaldea.

Minamoto Musashi, who disappeared upon her arrival to Chaldea returned. Ritsuka welcomes her back with open arms, Sasori less so. 

Everything was going swimmingly, until Hidan approached her. Sasori hadn’t seen her move and she effortlessly knocked his scythe out of his hand. There was a strange giddiness in the mercenary's eyes, filled with a need to fight.

One thing led to another, causing other Servants to get involved to break them apart. One of the others suggested offhandedly– it was Cú, _why not have a tournament to test your mettle?_

— Thus led to an announcement of a showdown between Shinobi and Samurai- the latter used rather loosely. Da Vinci sighed and suggested to use the simulator, which they agreed.

Hidan hauled him up into the air, bringing him to fight too.

“My pride’s on the line, so your ass is coming with..” Hidan scowled, “Jashin-sama will be pleased with her sacrifice!”

“Let me down, I don’t want any part of it.” Sasori snapped while struggling in the brat’s hold. He rather observe from the sidelines to laugh at him instead.

As they made their way down to the simulator room, Konan and Kakazu fell in line with them. It wasn’t too far off from the simulator now.

“Apparently the prize is being grailed whatever that means.” Kazuku remarked, “is it profitable?”

“Technically yes.” Konan speaks up, glancing over. “it brings out your power further.”

Kakazu scratched at his chin, while Hidan dropped Sasori on the ground. The puppeteer glared the Jashinist’s way, now standing back up. 

“I can offer it to Lord Jashin.” Hidan exclaimed, but then trailed off with an afterthought. “but ain’t we gonna be on a team?”

“Weren’t you listening to them?” Kakazu snarked, then rolled his eyes. 

“Ahhh, then what’s the point if I can’t use it myself!” Hidan exclaimed, distraught.

“Musashi suggested it to be similar to the duels in Shimousa.” Konan recalls, now curling strands of hair behind her ear. “but it appears we’ll have tough competition.”

“That I agree with.” A new voice said, while a shadow jumped down before them. 

Chiyome appears before them, with Kotaro and Danzo in tow, not too far behind.

“Apparently Nero-san is helping with some of the preparations,” Kotaro said, “because apparently other Servants wanted to place bets on the competition.”

“Master-dono is also going to be a spectator, while Mashu-san will be one of the referees.” Danzo added, now glancing toward them. 

“Has Musashi finished collecting her swordsmen?” Konan inquires with a raised brow.

“Indeed, which is what I came to inform you of,'' Chiyome said with a nod. “It’ll be her, Ushiwakamaru, Kojiro, Tomoe Gozen, Hijikata, Yagyu and Okita.”

“They all have swords too despite their different classes.” Konan said, now rubbing at her chin. 

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Sasori said with a shrug. He watched Kotaro gap at him like he had two heads. 

“There are _three_ Sabers on that team.” Danzo said.

“And there are four Assassins on ours, again, not a problem.” Sasori shook his head. “Sabers are powerful, but aren’t invincible- they’ve got their weaknesses.”

“Man, ya shouldn’t think too much about class shit, it ain’t worth it.” Hidan remarked. 

The other three shinobi exchanged a look, then nodded in agreement.

“As far as intel goes.” Konan began, drawing everyone’s attention. “Here is what I know of the following.”

* * *

The stadium is filled with numerous servants, each casting their votes and betting QP. Crafting this joint stage was put together quickly between Nero and Gilgamesh’s efforts.

It is a whim. The tyrant golden king announced prior. It led to the other royalty to place their bets as well. 

Ritsuka is joined by Da Vinci, where they had gotten close seats. The fighting is randomized— their names and faces spread across a screen in the middle.

Being the resident Master, it meant she couldn’t participate, so it was a fair fight.

As the names and faces began to flash across the screen, Ritsuka’s heart rapidly thumped against her chest in giddy anticipation. It went around and around, then it came to an abrupt end, unveiling two familiar faces.

Kakazu stands at one end of the arena, his Akatsuki uniform long discarded, replaced with a different set of clothes. He’s ascended twice since his arrival, appearing aloof to the crowd and his surroundings, only paying attention to his opponent.

Tomoe Gozen steps forward from the other, now twirling her arrows between her fingers and her bow in hand. 

From underneath the platform, Mashu Kyrielight emerges forth, with microphone in her hand. She’s accompanied by Nightingale, and with Nero Claudius who steps forward into the arena.

“My fellow allies! Welcome to our early Nero Fes! Hosted by me, Nero Claudius!” Nero announced with a wave, prompting the mixture of cheer and booing. “However, today isn’t our typical Nero Fes, I’m just here as a commentator, here to introduce: the Seven Duels of Chaldea! Between our Shinobi and Swordsmen!”

Another cheer goes by, Nero lets out another pleasant hum. She looks between Kazuku and Tomoe, now smiling. 

“It’s a elimination styled match, with our preliminaries, semi-finals and finals! The rules are quite simple! If you’re knocked out of the ring, concede defeat, or unconscious, the other team will be given a point! The more of your teammates awake, the more points you’ll rack up~! Regardless of your defeat, Ms. Nightingale will be sure to revive you!” Nero elaborates cheerfully, prompting the nurse to crack her knuckles. “Whichever team has the most wins, and must select who’ll be grailed this time around! I wish you the best of luck!”

Nero now steps away, off the stage with Nightingale not too far behind. She takes a seat at one of the booths nearby the stage with her own microphone. Mashu adjusts the microphone in her hand, fidgeting with the cords. Once it’s turned on, she smiles toward the rowdy crowd.

“Um, representing this round from the swordsmen is _Tomoe Gozen!_ ” Mashu announces, gesturing to Tomoe who waves. “And from the shinobi, is Kazuku! I wish you both the best of luck!”

Upon saying this, Mashu jumps away near the corner of the stage, raising her hand immediately, announcing for the beginning of the match. 

Not a second the match begins, fire rains down upon the sky, unleashed by Tomoe’s arrows. Kazuku evades them, making it a dance between them. He eventually breaks the rhythm, by hardening his hand, swiping a flaming arrow and throwing it back at her. 

Tomoe cuts through her arrow with her lance, slicing it in quick precision. She lunges forward, swinging the metal of her blade down to catch him, which he narrowly evades. Kakazu meanwhile puts some distance between them, allowing for his back to unstitch, opening up all for too see. 

Much to the crowd chagrin, a few of them might have retched at the grotesque sight.

Kakazu’s hearts dart out, unveiling themselves in full height likely to intimidate. Tomoe doesn’t show it, instead bracing herself and summoning forth flames from her hand. She propels herself at one of them, but she’s immediately bombarded by gusts of wind. It prompts her to spin and attempt to swipe at his feet, but that proves to be futile. 

A large gasp from the crowd prompted Tomoe to glance up to see lightning shot out. It hits, prompting her to howl in pain and she rolls onto her side. 

But it doesn’t deter her, Tomoe sharply inhales and gets back up onto her feet. She jumps when Kakazu’s arm is shot out at her, rolling out of the way. He attempts again, when sending his hearts to barrage her, fire is shot out, followed by electricity. Instead of grabbing her by the neck, Kakazu’s able to grab onto her leg and wastes no time to throw Tomoe like a rag doll right out of the arena. 

The material sewing Kakazu together is hard to break, nearly impossible to burn through. Before she’s thrown out of the ring, Tomoe grabs hold of his arms, sending a stream of fire back to the source. It burns, because it’s too far away from the main body allowing her to free herself. 

After wiggling free, Tomoe backflips in the air and stumbles when returning to the ground. She did not account for the hearts to merge, having hidden themselves out of her peripheral and unleashed a powerful blast of wind and fire. She’s caught up in the blast and feels herself lose consciousness.

When the smoke clears, it appears the winner has been decided. Kakazu of the Shinobi team has prevailed. 

* * *

The screen randomizes again, leaving Ritsuka on the edge of her seat. The crowds of servants animatedly debated while watching the faces change. The rapid moving image finally settles, revealing familiar faces once again.

Metal scrapes against the stone floors, sparking fire. A scythe twirls in the air, but is easily caught by Hidan, who cracks his neck. He appeared irritated by who stood across from him.

Hijikata calmly stood across, with sword in hand, leering at the Jashinist. The man takes a fierce bite out of his pickles, grinding them with his teeth. 

Mashu jumps in between them, with mic in hand.

“On our second round of the preliminaries, this time it is a fight between Hidan of the Shinobi and Hijikata Toshizo of the swordsmen!” Mashu announces, then raises her arm. “Begin!”

When the signal is given, Hidan wastes no time launching himself at Hijikata. The Vice Commander grabbed his rifle and in fluid motion fired a round of shots at the Jashinist. 

Hidan narrowly dove further down, and swung his scythe to cut into Hijikata but the man swiftly avoided it and sliced right through Hidan.

Coughing up blood, it prompted Hidan to back away. The Demon Commander charges straight for Hidan, slicing through him again. While the attack hit, a grin spread across Hidan’s face. Unbeknownst to Hijakata, Hidan stabbed him with his retractable spear and dove between the man’s legs. 

After a good distance away, Hidan erupts into laughter. 

“It’s all over for you!” Hidan boasted, as blood began to pour off the blade. Before the last of it fell, he licked the tip. In one fell swoop, his sandal drew the Jashinist symbol.

Upon it being formed, Hidan’s skin darkened, taking on a skeletal like appearance. He twirled his other blade and proceeded to stab through his vital organs, starting off with his heart.

Hijikata abruptly stopped in his stampede, coughing up a large amount of blood. However, a fire became lit in the man’s eyes, glowing with intensity. He sharply drew his breath, lunged his body at Hidan.

“THE! SHISENGUMI! WONT EVER FALL TO ANY! PARLOR TRICKS LIKE THAT!” Hijikata roared, his foot smashing through the dirt and through Hidan’s foot. 

He twirled the back of his rifle, using the butt of the gun to bash in the Jashinst’s head. It was double damage, because blood began to pour through Hijikata’s nose, sending Hidan flying out of the circle.

Just barely, Hidan twists his body midair, managing to regain his balance. He didn’t have much time to spare, because Hijikata came at him like a savage animal. They fell into a rhythm of trading blows, evading and slicing into one another. 

Hidan attempted to sweep the Commander off his feet with his scythe. Hijikata responded by slicing through the scythe’s cable. It forced Hidan into a corner as he ran around the arena and abruptly stopped.

They’ve run around so much, Hidan returned back to the Jashinist circle and grinned. Before he had a chance to gloat, however, Hijikata wasted no time and beheaded him on the spot.

Hidan’s head went flying into the stadium, landing Frankenstein’s lap. The Berserker frowned at the blood on her dress, while the other Berserker Hyde tsked.

“Ya really got ahead of yourself, mate?” Hyde quipped, prompting Hidan to scowl at him.

“Can it, you bastard!” Hidan yelled, but he was promptly shut up by Frankenstein, who forcibly closed his jaw.

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Hidan’s body fell backward with a loud thump. Surprisingly, Hijikata’s body fell soon after, having used up all his strength leading up to a draw.

* * *

When the faces finalized for the next fight, it fell upon two Assassins. Mashu then walked up first on stage, watching her fighters join her.

Chiyome stands before Kojiro, who adjusted the weight of his blade in his hand.

“On the Shinobi’s side, it’s Mochizuki Chiyome! On our swordsmen side, it’s Sasaki Kojiro!” Msahu announced, gesturing to them both. “Begin!”

The kunoichi wastes no time, unleashing shadows that snakes at Kojiro’s feet. The vagabond evades and slices through her illusions. They were as fast as light itself, their bodies becoming a blur. Metal clanged against one another, leaving the crowd at the edge of their seats.

Several times, Chiyome successfully evaded and sealed Kojiro’s Swallow Reversal. She inflicted him with curses that caused the samurai to slow down, feeling the weight of it inflict damage onto his body.

And yet, as tensions became high, Kojiro was able to evade Chiyome’s latest seal, allowing him to strike her down, leading to his victory.

* * *

As the next faces appear on screen, Mashu joins the participants on stage once more.

Katou Danzo adjusts the joints in her arms to become lighter as she appears in the ring. Yagyu meanwhile remains distant, placing a hand on the hilt of his blade.

“On the Shinobi’s side, we have Katou Danzo! On our swordsmen side, we have Yagyu Munenori!” Mashu said, now gesturing to them both. “Begin!”

Katou’s match in contrast is at a slower pace, given the fact she’s kept her distance from the swordsman. Instead she’s sent projectiles his way, trying to outwit him by causing up a stir and whipping up dust from the battlefield. But Yagyu is a keen swordsman with much experience, listening and awaiting for the dust to clear. He’s able to keep up with her close combat when she gets gutsy, able to combat her strikes with quick precision. 

The match picked up in the second half, leading up to Katou’s fatal mistake, just a second late to block an attack. Yagyu sliced into her side, leading her to fall to the ground, one of her arms now broken.

And Yagyu claimed victory for this round.

* * *

As the next screen showed the next fighters, Mashu pops up onto stage once more. 

“On our Shinobi’s side, It’s Fuuma Kotaro! And for the swordsmen, it’s Minamoto Musashi!” Mashu exclaimed with a grin, “Begin!”

Kotaro fidgeted slightly, while looking over at Musashi. The swordswoman meanwhile grins, giving him the thumbs up.

“Can’t believe our second match came so soon!” Musashi chuckled, now lowering herself into her stance. “Show me what the fifth leader of the Fuuma clan can do!”

Kotaro slowly breathed in, readying himself to retaliate against Musashi. Having had some practice already, he knows what he’s up against. No matter what he throws at her, whether it be fire, wind shuriken, kunai, nunchuks or his fists, he already knows it’s futile to win against her. And yet, Musashi not once demeans him as victory leans in her favor. She looks like she’s having fun, wearing a wild smile as metal clangs against one another, sparking off fire. It’s encouraging to see, despite all his inner self deprecation.

“You’ve gotten faster since last time, Kotaro!” Musashi laughed, as she swung her sword again.

Kotaro blocked, but managed out a breathy laugh. He snuck into her blind spot and aimed for her blind spot. “So have you, Musashi-dono”

Kotaro managed to damage her, but her damage is temporary. Musashi’s like a wild storm, and easily lands one onto him, causing him to jump back. As they fly at each other again, it’s clear who the victory is. Kotaro’s been kicked to the floor, and is aware that he’s lost.

When he sees Musashi’s shadow over him, he can’t help but smile as she puts out her hand toward him. He gratefully takes it, rising to his feet, wondering how the rest of the matches will go.

* * *

As the faces change on screen again, Mashu appears alongside her fellow Servants. On one side, Okita appears swiftly and grins. While Konan appears in a furry of paper, floating above them both. 

“Representing the Shinobi of this round, it is Konan! And on the swordsmen’s side it is Okita Souji!” Mashu exclaimed, now jumping back when giving the signal. “Begin!”

Okita and Konan’s match is like a game of cat and mouse. No matter how many times Okita cuts into Konan’s paper like body, she goes through her like a ghost.

It’s almost like a waltz, as they take it slow and steady, predicting one another’s next moves. Konan is undoubtedly top notch, able to avoid her blade for so long, she can already hear Nobbu and Chacha booing her at the stands.

They actually we’re being mean from the stands, but she’s lucky to not hear it.

“We should put an end to this.” Konan muses, and her papercraft swirls around her like a tornado, folding and twisting into birds. “Goodnight.”

Okita’s blade is fast enough to combat all of them, especially the bombs snuck in at the end, prompting Konan to rise above her, basking in victory.

* * *

The last round of the preliminaries comes, prompting the screen to flicker to the last people left. Mashu accompanies the Assassin and Rider onto stage, and glances between both of them.

“And the last round of the preliminaries is between Sasori of the Shinobi and Ushiwakamaru of the Swordsmen!” Mashu announces, then bows off of stage, “Begin!”

“Not in your bulky puppet this time?” Ushiwakamaru asks, now drawing her sword. 

“It’s been unnecessary when facing you, obviously.” Sasori retorts, allowing his fingers to stretch out. The Third Kazekage stands by him, looking vacantly toward the Rider. “I’ll be sure to make you dance.”

Iron Sand poured from the Third’s mouth, now reshaping itself into various shapes. It’s shot off at Ushiwakamaru, who dodged with the grace as a swan, reminding Sasori of the time when his grandmother controlled Haruno.

Much like Shuten Douji, Ushiwakamaru is cheeky enough to jump atop the temporary pillars of sand before they collapse, gaining height in order to jump down to slice off his head.

Sasori moves quickly to retaliate, flying through hand signs to bring up a chakra shield . When he disengages it, the Third immediately unleashes its sea of arms, summoned at an increasing rate.

Ushiwakamaru doesn’t have enough time to evade, getting caught up in the forest of hands that grab and tear into her. She sliced through them effortlessly and escaped, but he witnessed the slight limp, prompting him to smirk. Looks like the poison had taken effect.

In her moment of weakness, Sasori sends the Third after her, his chain saw like arms swing and cuts into her, prompting her to knock her out, leading to his victory.

* * *

When they roll into the semi-finals, Mashu briefly joins the contestants on stage before beginning the match without a word. Unlike the first set of fights, Kakazu is actually kept on his toes for once. Yagyu tests the limitations, getting a feel of the former’s different hearts as they tango. The fight has become unpredictable, as it continues onward.

Neither has a moment to rest, as Kakazu combines his hearts to whale on Yagyu. However, the older man managed to evade breaking some of the masks causing them to collapse into a puddle of goo. One of Kakazu’s hearts, just before it fell, unleashed a furious wind that cut through him, making the swordsman fall to his knees. Kakazu, who appeared to be breaking a sweat, watched the man carefully.

But it was a miscalculation, as Yagyu flew, stabbing him in the back.

Unfortunately, both fell in opposite directions, causing a double knock out.

“Ha! In his face!!” Hidan’s head laughed from Frankenstein’s lap. It prompted her to slap him with a disapproving grunt, causing Mordred to laugh at him.

* * *

“I’m truly honored to fight a beautiful woman like you.” Musashi said, drawing her blades. 

Konan merely nods her head, “I am as well, but enough talk. I will stop you here.”

Musashi isn’t afraid of the danger, cutting through her illusions and paper, dragging the angel back down to earth. The swordswoman grins after disarming Konan, prompting the latter to fall to the ground. In a charming gesture, Musashi catches her before she falls onto her face, leading to her victory.

* * *

The scope of Sasori and Kojiro’s fight is based on agility. No matter how many times Kojiro cuts, Sasori builds war after wall of Sand. It pierced through Kojiro, again and again, keeping him out of his personal space.

Sasori’s attention is focused at all times, and prompts the Third to grab ahold of Kojiro’s blade. A flick of Sasori’s wrist and he summons forth a scroll, smears blood on it and reveals a long tail from Hiruko that ensnares Sojiro’s body.

“Nice play.” The samurai remarks, now raising his hand to give up. “Although I doubt you’ll have a chance against her.”

Sasori offers him a lazy smile. “All great swordsmen fall someday.”

* * *

The finals have come, with their remaining participants. Mashu keeps it brief and announces for their fight to begin,

“You know, with all his talk, I thought I’d be facing Hidan.” Musashi said with a laugh, now removing one of her blades.

“It’s because he fights rashly.” Sasori replies, summoning forth the Third to his side. 

As if on cue, Hidan now fully in tact, begins to yell. He’s quickly shut up by Mordred, who drags him to sit down.

“Haha, you’re right about that!” Musashi now got into position, “let’s see what you’re made of!”

“Come!” Sasori called, placing the Third in front of him. 

They lunged at one another, Musashi slamming into the Third’s arms. They’re pushing against one another, until Sasori swiftly moves his left hand to unleash the saw to come at Musashi’s blindspot. She jumps out of the way, but hardly is given a chance to recover. A sea of puppet arms is unlocked, shooting out every corner of the stadium.

Musashi narrowly evades each and every one of them, but doesn’t expect the cloud of poison unleashed from the Third Kazekage. Prompting her to begin to cough, falling to her knees. Sasori takes the chance to manipulate the Iron Sand, it disperses and rains down upon her, becoming a web of poisoned spikes. 

The swordswoman however trudges on, sharply inhaling and cuts through her shackles. Musashi lunges forward and pierces through the Third Kazekage, breaking it apart. Sasori’s mask of aloofness breaks, causing him to narrowly duck underneath her blade. He throws a chakra string onto the Third Kazekage’s head, flinging its mouth blade into Musashi’s leg.

It causes her to fall, the poison must have finally gotten to her. Sasori exhales a sigh of relief as the crowd begins to cheer. He also falls to his knees, the wind knocked out of him. 

He crawls over, and unveils a syringe from his back pocket and stabs it into her thigh.

Musashi cranes her neck over, glancing up toward him and lets out a chuckle.

“What, are you planning to finish me off?” Musashi asked, there’s a challenge in her tone. 

“No.” Sasori replies with a shake of his head. “It’s an antidote of my poison.”

A flicker of surprise appears across Musashi’s face, and she breaks into a grin. “You aren’t too bad, puppet man.” 

* * *

It doesn’t take long, but after getting some of the other medic Servants out on the field, they join the winner and announcers up on stage. Nero grins at Sasori, now unveiling one of the Grails they’ve kept for safe keeping from the storage. 

“And here, let us congratulate our winner, Sasori!” Nero exclaims, and the crowd cheers. “Take good care of this Grail, umu!”

Sasori takes the Grail into his hand, he feels the power emitting from it, rippling throughout his body. No wonder they went to such great lengths to retrieve them, because of the power they contained. 

Wordlessly, Sasori nods and glances over to his companions– namely Hidan, who looked pissed. Konan smiled, clapping to congratulate him, while Kakazu gave an approving nod. Applying a bit of chakra to it, the grail disappeared in his hands, he felt it being absorbed into his Spirit Origin. 

“Now onto the celebration!” Nero cheered, followed by the others. There would be a welcome feast to come.

* * *

The festivities continued to go on, but Sasori’s just about had enough. He slipped out of the cafeteria, back into the open hall and left out a sigh.

“Tired out from the party?” A familiar voice asked, prompting Sasori to jump.

“Just who I wanted to see.” Sasori grumbled, now beginning to turn away.

“How cruel!” Merlin unveils himself to him, with a frown. “I saw you leaving from the cafeteria, so I couldn't help but be curious.”

Sasori lets out a grunt, then crosses his arms. 

“So what do you want?” Sasori asked, “You usually don’t appear unless you’re scheming.”

“You wound me, Sasori, after I was so good to you?” Merlin feigns hurt, but then grins. “I wanted to come ask, how you’ve been feeling with everything?”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about.” Sasori mutters, looking down at the mage. “I don’t know.”

“Being Grailed is the highest honor.” Merlin said, now taking a step forward. “I’m sure you must feel something? You aren’t truly a puppet.”

“I’m not.” Sasori, now saying it with confidence. “And I’ll never be…”

“Which should be a good thing!” Merlin chuckled, “And how do you feel about her?”

“Ritsuka?” Sasori said without thinking. Merlin cracks a grin at him. He glares back at him with a frown. “She truly is something else.”

“A good or a bad thing?” Merlin asks, tilting his head. 

“....Impressive.” Sasori replies with a shrug. “She’s nothing special, but she’s impressive.”

“That’s a bit of a contradiction, hm?” Merlin raises a brow, and it’s beginning to annoy Sasori more. “It means your feelings have changed about her.”

“She’s gotten by her own merits.” Sasori continues, “....I suppose I hadn’t realized her own struggles because I was far too interested in my own.”

“And that’s what we call character development!” Merlin chuckles with a laugh. “...What do you think of that, Master?”

Sasori whips around, spotting a blur of red orange hair come into his peripheral. Ritsuka’s standing there and sheepishly waves.

“I came out to look for you, since I noticed you disappear.” Ritsuka said with a chuckle, “Am I… interrupting something?”

“Nope~!” Merlin said with a sing song, prompting Ritsuka looks at him with disbelief. “We’re just having a chat.” 

“Sure, sure, Merlin.” Ritsuka said with a shrug, then points accusingly at him. “ _I don’t believe you though_.”

“Believe what you will.” Merlin replies with nonchalance, then winks at them both. “Well! I’ll just leave you to it!”

And with that, Merlin returns back into the cafeteria, leaving the two of them alone. 

“Getting overwhelmed?” Ritsuka asks, tilting her head. Sasori shrugs in response, looking down the hall. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Ritsuka giggled, but slipped into a face of concern. “ What’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel worthy of a grail.” Sasori replied, “I feel undeserving of it.”

“But you won it fair and square.” Ritsuka replies, now smiling. “You won it because of your own merits.”

Sasori doesn’t say a word, but looks back at her.

“Sorry for interrupting your talk with Merlin.” Ritsuka said with a laugh, “...I didn’t realize you guys were close.”

“I didn’t either.” Sasori quips, prompting her to laugh. “There’s something, I wish to show you.” 

“Hm?” Ritsuka raises a brow, “what is it?”

“Come back with me to my bedroom.” Sasori said, making a hitherto motion for her to follow. Ritsuka obeys and they walk in silence back toward his room.

Ritsuka hobbles behind him, watching Sasori curiously as he takes a scroll off his desk. He bites into his thumb, smearing it onto the paper and in a plume of smoke, a figure emerges.

A figure that looks exactly like Sasori.

Ritsuka gasps, now dropping to her knees at the puppet near identical to her Servant. It has no eyes, there is a hole gorged into his chest where his heart should be.

“Once, I tried to make myself into my puppet and I was successful.” Sasori began, now dropping across from her. “Living as a human became something detestable.” 

“You really are a perfectionist.” Ritsuka said, now leaning forward curiously, fingers lightly brushing against the puppet’s red hair. “This one’s different from your third Ascension one.” 

”You can’t have too many bodies.” Sasori replied, prompting Ritsuka to stiffen. “As a puppet, no matter how many times I was wounded or hurt, I could just build myself up again.”

“You didn’t feel anything?” Ritsuka asks, now raising a brow, watching him shake his head.

“I made myself a perfect puppet, but I wasn’t successful in becoming the full thing.” Sasori continued, “...I still felt, even though I distanced myself from human emotions. They were useless to me….”

“Ah...so it finally makes sense.” Ritsuka whispered, prompting Sasori to look at her. “You see, you kinda unconsciously….”

“Shared memories with you?” Sasori finishes for her, watching her nod her head. “I see.”

“The loneliness you felt...and being lied to….forced you into a corner.” Ritsuka said, now looking down at his puppet body. 

“...During the time I grew up, our society was fairly frigid.” Sasori explained, “They hardly had time for human emotions, Suna nin were cold, keeping each other at arms length. My grandmother was no different.”

“And you’re blaming her?” Ritsuka asks.

“Yes, entirely.” Sasori replies with a grunt. “And yet at the end, she went to those lengths for me… I couldn’t understand.”

There’s a lapse of silence between them, prompting Sasori to sigh.

“All those years, she kept her distance from me, nor did she tell me my parents died. It was a waste of time….” Sasori shook his head. “She encouraged me to make puppets, I wanted to be praised and grew infamous for being _Sasori of the Red Sand_.”

There’s another beat of silence. 

“And yet, no one tried to stop me from building them.” Sasori concludes, now looking at the stiff body in front of them. 

Ritsuka’s expression grew somber. “So you wanted to stop making them?”

“It was the only thing I had.” Sasori explained, “which resulted in me making this, to make human puppets. Puppets themselves can be immortal, since they can be rebuilt no matter times they’re destroyed.”

“It all makes sense now…” Ritsuka said with a frown. “You were afraid of death too...huh?”

Sasori doesn’t confirm nor deny this, instead looking at her strangely. Ritsuka chuckles now, finding amusement in all of this. 

“You were right, from back then.” Ritsuka said, “We’re both perfectionists, ride or die, huh. Death scares me too, which is why I’m doing everything I can to prevent anyone else from being hurt. I’ve lost too many people important to me…”

Sasori ponders if she’s alluding to all she’s lost during the past singularities. They lapse into silence once more, the only thing that could be heard is their breathing.

“If you want to stop, I’ll tell you to stop.” Ritsuka begins suddenly. “As your Master, no, as your friend, I will stop you from mindless slaughter.”

“Even though we won’t have much more time together?” Sasori asks, watching her nod.

“You shared your darkest secret with me, of course I will. I’m a woman of my word.” Ritsuka replied, now grabbing onto his hand. “And besides, you’ve stopped me too many times from running off recklessly right? What would I do without you?”

Sasori scoffs, rolling his eyes. “You probably tell that to everyone.”

“Wha– no!” Ritsuka sputters, “Each and every one of you are important to me, but only a select few really get me who I truly am. We’re like, on the same wavelength.”

“And yet you still are able to look at the brighter side.” Sasori comments, “it is a useless trait as a shinobi, but as a human, it is commendable.”

Ritsuka blinks a few times, but breaks out into a smile. “Thank you Sasori, it’s very human of you to say it too.”

...And Sasori breaks out into a smile too, “We ought to get back to the party.”

“You sure?” Ritsuka raises a brow, “Not tired out?”

“I can handle it, I’ve gotten used to it.” Sasori said with a shrug, now putting his puppet spare away.

Ritsuka approaches the doorway, with Sasori following close behind back to the festivities, both contented in each others company.

* * *

The following day, Sasori found himself in Da Vinci’s workshop after being summoned there. The Genius leans against her workbench, wearing a sly smile. 

“So, we’ve gathered enough materials for you to reach your full potential.” Da Vinci said, “Who would’ve thought we’d finally be able to see it.”

“I didn’t think that we would.” Sasori said with a shrug. “Might as well get it over with.”

Sasori follows the procedures, standing onto the platform, with the materials. The stage glows alight, consuming his form, power coursing through his body. The light dissipates quickly, along with a small card that floats out from the light.

Da Vinci catches it, now turning it over in her gloves. Sasori’s been ascended fully, transformed back to his puppet body again. He saunters over to Da Vinci with the card in hand. 

“Hmm, looks like we’ve finally gotten this!” Da Vinci sang, prompting Sasori to swipe at it. “Uh-uh, this will be useful for me!”

“What is it?” Sasori grunted, “give it back.”

“It’s a Craft Essence,” Da Vinci explained, then put a hand onto her hip. “Don’t you remember the explanation when you first came here?”

“No.” Sasori deadpans, brows furrowing. “Why is that here?”

“It means~ that you’ve truly met your full potential, both physically and emotionally.” Da Vinci replies with a shit eating grin. “Which I now have to give over too….” 

As if on cue, Ritsuka jumps into Da Vinci’s workshop, clearly out of breath.

“Oh man! I missed it!” Ritsuka cried, now shuffling over to the Caster. “Is that–!”

“Yup! Sasori’s 10th Bond Craft Essence, give it a go, Ritsuka!” Da Vinci cheered, throwing it over the Master.

Ritsuka caught it effortlessly, now holding it close to her chest. She takes a sneak peak of it, and smiles.

“That’s––!” Sasori tries to dive after Ritsuka, attempting to attach chakra strings onto her but fails when Da Vinci intervenes, who winks at him.

“Blackmail!” Da Vicni sings with a teasing smile. “Your deepest feelings are immortalized forever, Sasori! And we’ll now have it on file!”

“I can’t believe this.” Sasori grunts, watching Ritsuka smile innocently. “This is a terrible betrayal.”

“It isn’t a betrayal if I don’t show other people.” Ritsuka sticks out her tongue, matching Da Vinci’s grin. “I can only access these files after all.”

Sasori visibly relaxes, but Ritsuka’s smile is beginning to look more threatening. She might’ve been an ordinary girl, but she truly used it for her own benefit, for her own schemes.

“Well, I have to go out with Mashu!” Ritsuka suddenly says, “We have another supply run to do, see you!”

Upon Ritsuka leaving, Da Vinci begins to chuckle looking over toward Sasori. 

“Take good care of her.” Da Vinci said with a slight smile. “I’m surprised she was able to break open your fleshy core heart.”

“Hmph.” Sasori grunts, putting his hands over his chest. “ You’re saying as if you’re leaving her in my hands.”

“Well, I trust Holmes will too but…” Da Vinci trails off, now looking toward the door. “Something tells me when the United Nations come, something will happen.”

Sasori narrows his eyes, frowning toward Da Vinci. He remains silent, awaiting her to finish.

“...Something disastrous?” Sasori asks after a few minutes. 

“Perhaps on par on why _you_ and your comrades are here.” Da Vinci answered vaguely, “regardless, I’ll leave her and the others in your hands, especially when your world and ours collide.”

Sasori silently nods, and begins to leave the room as well. 

“I won’t fail.” Sasori said after the entrance, leaving Da Vinci alone in her studio.

Bond Level Ten Achieved!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLLYYYY This beast of a chapter is finally out. With this chapter, it concludes The Bond Arc of this fic to be over, woohoo! Next will be the Naruto/Boruto arc which I've started writing, I'm excited to get a headway with that! Once again, a heads up that I'll be shifting the pacing for the next couple of chapters too~! 
> 
> Stay tuned y'all.
> 
> And as promised, what's detailed on the back of his Craft Essense Card:  
> Craft Essence  
> Spare Puppet Body.  
> Increases Party’s Quick Card and Buster Card by 15% and increases to 20% when on  
> the field. 
> 
> “Quite the hollow thing, isn’t it? A puppet can be built and rebuilt numerous times, but a human body cannot– plagued by its mortality. A puppet does not feel, it is an emotionless doll and doesn’t require the necessities that humans do and its able to endure. Yet I failed to fully become one, unfortunately––– why do you look sad on my behalf? I’d be insulted if you pitied me, because that’s in the past now. My previous mindset has shifted, so you need not be as concerned for me anymore.”


	8. Blooming Evils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The evil dormant in the land stirs.
> 
> Sasori and co. return back to the world they left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're in the Lost Belts era/Boruto section of the fic, nice! 
> 
> For timeline purposes, we're roughly before the Rerun Battle in NY Event! Hope you enjoy!

A figure crawls through the dead of night, haggardly breathing. Death is near for them, they can barely move after that humiliating defeat. Most of their strength lost after leaving much of themselves behind. 

But as the world dimmed, covering it in nothing but darkness, a bright light envelops them.

“Don’t you have something left to do?” A voice asked, it sounds familiar yet not. “If you can still fight, I can lend you my power.”

A malicious smile appears as the figure reaches upward, fully embracing the power they’ve gained.

* * *

New Years goes by in a blur, peppered by blood and gunshots, embraced by a blizzard who thwarted the semblance of peace they barely managed to build. Chaldea is stolen from them, forcing them into exile. Da Vinci’s forlorn smile before the New Year's fiasco marked the beginning of the end for Chaldea. 

The last time Sasori left his roots, it was on his own terms. Leaving Suna was easy back then, there was nothing left for him there. Chaldea is different however, it was almost like  _ something  _ of his was taken. It feels eerily similar when his parents left him, Chiyo never saying a word. The life he built at Chaldea was stolen from him in a blink of an eye. It makes him fairly bitter, because Sasori still couldn't do anything, because Sherlock Holmes stowed most of Chaldea’s Saint Graphs away when the United Nations and Mage Association stepped in.

Upon being reawakened in the Wandering Sea with everyone else, they weren’t able to properly mourn for the former Director. With the appearance of the new and approved Da Vinci, Sasori masked his sadness carefully behind his perfectly aloof mask. 

The great genius thought far ahead, more than Sasori could have realized. It astounded him; they might have been more alike than he realized. He naturally fell into routine with the new Da Vinci, it was comfortable yet unsettling. Their rapport was more or less the same, but he’s found this one giving him more witty responses. 

Mashu and Ritsuka seemed to cope more or less too, having to strive forward toward a better tomorrow. They also had Gordolf, the New Director along with Sion and Captan to accompany them this time around.

Four Lostbelts lead to four tragedies, something Ritsuka persevered against. While Sasori hadn’t been assigned to those missions, he was present behind the scenes observing the progress. Konan commented he might have been just a bit overbearing, to which he scoffed at.

With the new Lostbelts, it brought in a slew of tears and new allies. Sasori had no idea how Ritsuka did it, but she managed to summon many of their past foes. Whether it be because of luck, or they pitied her enough, they came in droves. Ritsuka did weep over the loss of funds, even after putting together shoddy catalysts. Some of her other Servants would attempt to pick her up, which included Sasori. As a Veteran Servant, he infrequently intermingled with them. 

Today Sasori found himself in company with some of the newer Servants. The cafeteria bustling per usual, most of them talking about summer. Usually Sasori kept details about himself vague, outside of the Master and Da Vinci, but today wasn’t those days.

“I do not know if I could stand a country so hot.” Anastasia remarked, stroking Viy’s head. “I’d likely I’d melt from it.”

“Psh, the man slayers only live in one place? What the hell.” Okada Izou grumbled. “You’re telling me  _ shinobi _ run you’re world.”

Shi Huang Di and Arjuna Alter hung back, pretending to not listen in. But Sasori knew they were listening, prompting him to monotonously continue.

“The Land of Iron May suit you better, since it's annually snowing.” Sasori stated, glancing at Anastasia. It narrowed to Izou, frowning. “Shinobi once weren’t too different from you, before the Hidden Villages were established, they were hired and paid to fight for the elites.”

In the middle of the conversation, Sasori feels a firm hand against his shoulder, prompting him to glance up.

“Oi, since when were  _ you _ Mr. Popular?” Hidan leaned against him, “Ya could ask me ‘bout that too.”

“Oh? You’re from the same world?” Yu Miaoyi looked up from her book, lowering her book. “You could’ve fooled me, I thought you came from a garbage heap.”

It prompted Izou and some of the others to laugh, while Yu’s eyes crinkled together into a smile.

“Why you bi-“ Hidan just about jumped across the cafeteria table, but abruptly fell back.

A faint chakra string flickers in the light, jerking him backward. Hidan falls with a bang, hitting his head on the floor prompting for the surrounding crowd to laugh. Napoleon does the honor of helping the Jashinist up off the floor.

“He’s got a hard head,” Kakazu quipped, joining Sasori at the table. The elder Shinobi shakes his head in disapproval. “You’d think this idiot would learn by now.”

“I concur.” Konan joined them, another stab at Hiden. “What's this about home?”

“Oh, it’s riff raff about summer..” Sasori said, “A good amount of them are reminiscing about vacation. “

“I see.” Konan hummed, taking a seat beside him. “I doubt  _ Ame _ would be a good vacation spot, given all the rain it gets yearly.”

“Nor would  _ Taki _ .” Kakazu grunted, shaking his head. “Wonder if the place burned down.”

“Ah? Taki? Ame? The hell ya talking about?” Izou drawled, leaning forward. “You can’t be serious ya lived in rain and waterfalls.”

“Did you not say the full thing?” Konan turns to Sasori, who shrugs.

“He just wasn’t paying attention.” Sasori deadpans with indifference. “That’s on him.”

“They certainly do not sound like they’re of this world.” Yu closed her book, placing it down. “Even during my time as a A Team member I’ve never heard of those places before, which means...?”

“Our history and yours is quite different.” Sasori offered vaguely, “we aren’t even from this world.”

“No different from a Lostbelt then?” Yu asked.

“Hm, not as catastrophic.” Konan shakes her head. “It’s an entirely different world in comparison, but we clearly share some similarities.”

“Like summons for instance.” Sasori added, rubs the bottom of his chin. “I wonder if it’ll work.

Sasori stares at his hand, then bites harshly into his palm.. He swipes across the cafeteria table with blood, prompting disgust and fascination from the onlookers. He draws a summoning circle on it, stands up and goes through the hand signs. Sasori concentrates chakra, then slams it into the table, prompting a plume of gas to spew out of it.

It surprises him, joining the others with bated breath. Nothing big or flashy occurred, but as the smoke cleared, something skittered across the table. 

“Ah shit! There’s a god damn scorpion here!” Izou hissed, blade in hand, backing up from his seat.

“I’m not  _ just _ a scorpion! I’ve got a name, dog breath!” The scorpion sneered, pointing its tail at him.

“Eh-“ Izo sputtered, causing the cafeteria to lapse into a brief silence.

Looking down at the scorpion, Sasori’s brows marginally raised.

“Huh, didn’t think it’d work.” Sasori mumbled, expression unreadable.

“Master Sasori!” The scorpion cried as it bounced up and down. It launched itself onto his arm. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“As am I, Eiji, it’s been a long time.” Sasori greeted, allowing the scorpion to crawl onto the palm of his left hand.

“We shinobi also have familiars, most coming in the form of animals and the like.” Sasori said facing the crowd.

“We did not know they’d be possible if human speech!” Shi Huang Di announces from the back.

The group around them murmured in agreement. Sasori remains standing, allowing his familiar to climb his shoulder. His eyes narrowed to Konan and Kakazu, then back to the crowd.

“They aren't the only beings capable of human speech.” Sasori said, “but I suppose you ought to ask Konan and Kakazu about that... if you'll excuse me.”

Abruptly, Sasori turns away much to the crowd’s confusion. 

“Eiji, how did you get here?” Sasori asked.

“Boss, I don’t know, it wasn’t easy!” Eiji squeaked. “It feels like I went through a chopping block!”

Sasori absentmindedly hums in contemplation, arriving at the Command room. A few familiar faces are inside, discussing something in low whispers. The conversation abruptly stops once he steps inside, acknowledging his presence.

“Oho, who do you have there, Sasori?” Da Vinci asked, eyes glittering with curiosity. She bounced over toward him, attempting to get a look at Eiji. 

“My familiar.” Sasori briskly replied, stepping toward the computer monitors. Eiji meanwhile tried to hide between the locks of his red hair.

Most of it is made up of numbers and coordinates, with a 3D model of the Earth at the center. It appeared they honed in on something that flickered in the Pacific Ocean. Since arriving at the Wandering Sea, most of the minor singularities were similar. This must have meant one thing. 

“You were able to summon one?” Sion asks in confusion. “But you aren’t a Caster Servant?”

“No but, from what I recall...” Da Vinci glances at him, tapping the bottom of her chin. “Shinobi can perform numerous strange things outside of the logistics of being a Servant. They’re almost like Mages, in a way…!”

“Who’re your new friends, Boss?” Eiji asked, prompting their surprise. “And where are we?”

“I’ll explain later.” Sasori said, glancing at the monitors. “Has there been any abnormalities?”

“Actually, that was what Da Vinci and I were discussing.” Sion said, now rushing over to the monitor. “Says there is one where Suruga Province, Japan..”

“It’s barely manifesting, but if unchecked it could lead to later issues.” Da Vinci adds, running a hand through her hair. “Looks like we’re putting our trip for the next Lostbelt on back burner for now.”

“Agreed.” Sion gives Sasori a pointed look. “you might want to explain to me what’s going on and figure out who you’re sending.”

“If it’s what the former me discussed, you ought to be ready.” Da Vinci said, earning a confused look from Sion.

“I’ll grab Ritsuka while I’m at it.” Sasori said, turning to leave; he waves before exiting the room.

Once Sasori left, Sion turned back to Da Vinci, “What’s this about, Da Vinci?” 

“You can say some of our Servants aren’t exactly from this world.” Da Vinci said. “According to my records, past me mentioned how a conflict between different worlds will emerge, it’s why Sasori and his comrades were summoned. Whatever it is it’ll cause issues for us too.”

“Hmm....” Sion turns back to the monitor, hands gliding across the keys. “The readings are unstable, it keeps fluctuating.”

“Then we can only hope they’ll be able to solve the mystery.” Da Vinci said, “too bad Merlin couldn’t give us a better reading on it.”

“Merlin?” Sion’s brow arched upward. “Don’t tell me....”

“He got Sasori here in the first place.” Da Vinci laughed, amused. “messed with things, but seems like it was for a good cause.”

“I wonder if we’ll be able to communicate with them properly while they’re there then.” Sion ponders aloud. “since it’s a different world and all.”

“Well as usual....” Da Vinci grinned, “we’ll just have to force our way through!”

* * *

A collection of Servants crowd around the Summoning Chambers, including the Director, Holmes, and Da Vinci. Before jumping through worlds via rayshift, Sasori gathered everyone he could think of so they could properly explain the situation. Some of the Servants not called upon came by themselves, watching by the side lines. And naturally, once everyone was present, Sasori glanced at Konan who cleared her throat.

“...Is this everyone? Good. Before I begin, I’d like to say we might run into issues during the rayshift.” Konan began, clasping her hands together. “our world is fairly different, so it’s possible we may run into issues like in the Salem Sub Singularity...”

“That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get there.” Holmes said with a nod. “although we haven’t exactly coordinated the numbers of how big the issue is. I believe this has been kept under wraps for the most part?”

“Yes. Until today, I haven’t spoken much about it to the other Servants.” Sasori adds coolly. “I’ve only shared the extent of what I’ve known with the previous acting director.”

There’s a pregnant pause, with those present remembering the previous Leonardo Da Vinci. Sasori briefly looks toward Ritsuka, before beginning.

“After my death, my soul gravitated to this world and was anchored by Merlin at the beginning of the Grand Orders.” Sasori began, “He predicted our worlds would collide, possibly overlapping with one another with reasons he has not disclosed to me. He foresaw me giving my aid and here I am— this is what I was necessary for.”

“Of course it’d be Merlin.” Ushiwakamaru muttered.

This prompted some stifled chuckles from the Servants present. Regardless, Sasori proceeded to continue.

“I have some suspicions about what this might lead to, but remained quiet regarding my speculations.” Sasori elaborated, glancing at Konan. “Previously it’s been established we’re all a part of the same organization prior to arriving here.”

“Yes. The Akatsuki, originally was a mercenary group, I originally helped establish it.” Konan reveals, tucking her blue hair behind the shell of her ear. “However, we were being manipulated in the long run.”

“Ah right, those creatures we fought back then....” Chiyome piped up. “You called them Zetsu, yes?”

There is a nod from the Akatsuki members, confirming the information. 

“Long story short, Zetsu–– rather,  _ Black Zetsu _ , was the reason for our world being nearly annihilated; he forced humanity into a delusion slumber. Humans there almost became reduced to a vegatative state “ Konan concludes. “Although, I was only filled in by Sasori about the conclusion since I hadn’t witnessed the battle myself.”

“Then, who do you want to bring with you?” Da Vinci asks, “Considering you’re limited in who you can bring with you, beside Ritsuka and Mashu?”

“Oh, I’ve already gotten that covered.” Sasori replies with a grin. “ You can never be too careful, I’ve already figured out how to cheat the system.”

Sasori wastes no time grabbing scrolls from his belt, placing them onto the floor and unveiling them. Funijutsu is scrawled across all of them with precise and neat brushwork. Near the front of the group, Oui kneels down beside them to inspect.

“The heck ya gonna do with this?” Oui asked, prompting Sasori to smile.

“I’ve a surplus of scrolls made prior to the Crypters attacking us stored up. Much like my puppets, you can seal anything inside: weapons, ninjutsu, elements, living things, what have you.” Sasori elaborates. “If I can fit 100 puppets into a scroll, I can likely fit Servants in tool.”

“Has it been tested yet?” Holmes inquires, brow raising.

“With Servants? No. But living people have been sealed inside, so it’s likely to work.” Sasori reassured confidently. “it’d be a problem if we’re unable to get back up, especially if we’re unable to reach Chaldea. So I decided this as a measure against that problem ahead of time.”

“We don’t even know what problems lie ahead, so I was thinking of having a set of teams.” Konan said, “Having coordinated previous operations before, I’d be confident in leading our allies.”

“There’s also the possibility of giving against other shinobi, which might crop up other issues.” Sasori adds. “...Konan and I already planned ahead for the teams.”

“Can scrolls be reused?” Mashu asks, brow furrowing. “Because I’d hate for you to use them up!”

“They are, you can reseal items and the like inside.” Sasori nods, hands gesturing toward them.. “Those here I’d like to organize into teams in the scrolls, while Kakazu, Hidan, Konan and I would be rayshifting with the Master and Mashu.”

“I see.” Da Vinci says with a nod. “will there be a need for summoning while there then?”

“Potentially. We’ll have to see when we get there.” Konan said with a brisk nod. She turns to the group before them, “let’s get started.”

After fighting over the groupings, preparations finally semi-finalise. Konan, Sasori and Kakazu stand before three of the scrolls. Hidan meanwhile kicked back, watching them do the work. Simultaneously, they flew through the necessary hand signs for the Sealing Technique. Enveloped by white light, the groups disappeared in a plume of smoke.

When Sasori walks to the last group, he lifts a brow at the fidgety Okita. 

“Are you sure it’ll be alright?” Okita asks, side eying the team mates she’ll be sealed with.

Sasori offers a lazy smile. “Just try not to kill each other.”

Before she can protest, Sasori repeats the process from before. It sucks the remaining Servants inside, falling into his hands. He sticks the next scroll into his pack for safe keeping. 

“Woah, Sasori, you should’ve told us about this earlier!” Ritsuka exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly. “We could have used these for rations and stuff before!”

“Oh.” Sasori blinks, now frowning. He couldn’t do much about that, considering Sherlock. “My bad.”

Ritsuka sighs, while Mashu places a hand onto her shoulder. Da Vinci who's been watching impassively brightens up.

“Oh, which reminds me.” Da Vinci announces with a smile, skating over to Ritsuka. “Myself from before made this for you!”

Blinking, Ritsuka turns over the clothes in her hands. She gasps, fervently glancing between Da Vinci and the new colorful clothes. 

“When did you make another Mystic Code?!” Ritsuka exclaimed, observing Da Vinci handing off one to Mashu as well. 

“Apparently, because of Sasori.” Da Vinci said with nonchalance. “Figured you might need it whenever we had to confront this.”

Hidan, who hadn’t been paying much attention appeared slack jawed. He glances at Sasori mouth agape, throwing his head back in laughter.

“Hahaha! Ain’t that kinda weird? You’re trying to dress up the brat!” Hidan said, pointing at Sasori. “She ain’t a puppet, ya know.”

“It’s a precaution so her body can adjust potentially with our world.” Sasori deflects the accusation with a shrug, turning away.. “It’s purely practical; I haven’t thought of human puppet making for quite some time.”

Behind his head, Hidan flips Sasori off. Kakazu merely shakes his head, while Konan ignores the men all together.

“Enough dawdling we ought to get to work.” Konan sternly commands, “let’s get into the coffins.”

There’s a collective agreement, taking their time to enter the coffins.

* * *

Never did Sasori think he’d go through excruciating pain ever again. He was wrong by a landslide. It was easily comparable to the time he was transformed into a Servant. His skin felt like it was on fire, the pain surged throughout his limbs. For the first time in forever, he feels a pulse of his chakra network thrum to life.

They’ve also manifested in the middle of the sky. In a comedic fashion the louder people in their group scream— Hidan, Ritsuka, and Mashu, flail about uselessly in the air as they plummeted back to the earth. 

The drop is short lived, thanks to Konan’s quick thinking. A densely formed platform of paper catches them, slowly lowering them all down to the Earth. It cushions the fall, lowering them off to the side of the road. 

“Are you alright, Master?” Konan asked, helping Ritsuka up.

“Not too bad.” Ritsuka mumbled, brushing herself off. “what about you guys?”

“ _ Just  _ peachy.” Hidan wryly grumbles, glancing over to Kakazu. “Feel weird ain’t it? I feel heavy as hell.”

“Let’s test something out then.” Kakazu said, “I propose we attempt to go into spirit form, then again attempt with the Chameleon Jutsu.”

“Oh, to check if we’ve been incarnated into this realm?” Sasori muses aloud. “Good thinking.”

The group of shinobi makes an attempt, a beat goes between them, but nothing happens. A beat later, and they form the tiger sign, blending into the forest surroundings.

“This could be a problem.” Sasori mutters upon releasing the jutsu. “Unless the others will be able to adapt their abilities to this world.”

“Urgh don’t tell me we gotta teach them all chakra control and shit.” Hidan groaned. “That’s gonna suck.”

“Hm.” Konan hummed, now turning toward Mashu and Ritsuka. “Mashu, let's have a skirmish.”

“Huh?!” Mashu exclaimed, “Right now?”

“Yes.” Konan said, glancing toward Ritsuka. “I want you to back her, Master, if we don’t we might be in quite the predicament.”

“Alright! Let’s go!” Ritsuka said, her eyes ablaze. “I’m counting on you, Mashu!”

“Mashu Kyrielight, engaging!” Mashu exclaimed, her Servant attire now manifesting. She twirls her shield, slamming it into the dirt.

“Kakazu.” Konan tilts up her chin, gesturing over toward him. “I’d like you to fight her.”

“Let’s get this over with then.” Kakazu grumbled now shooting his arms out at her.

Mashu bats them away, jumping toward and swings her shield down. He evades, ducking behind her back to which she sharply turns around to swipe. He uses her shield as leverage to fling himself up, attempting to slam at her head .

In the moment of weakness, Mashu barely shields herself from the blow. Her balance goes awry, batting against him and slamming him into a nearby tree. Kakazu is fast, because he recovers and jumps back up. Suddenly, the ground breaks apart and shoots from behind Mashu causing her to messily erect a barrier to protect herself with. It manifests, completely deflecting the latter’s assault.

“That’s enough.” Kakazu urged, receding his arms back. His brow creases together. “ _ Well? _ ”

“I was.. panicking a little, because I couldn’t summon a shield but....” Mashu begins, now lowering the massive shield down. “It appears.... I’m able to draw in energy from my surroundings?”

“It appears we’ll have to check with the others.” Sasori said, now unlatching a scroll from his belt. “We should also attempt connecting with Da Vinci.”

Focusing chakra into the scroll, Sasori tosses it up into the air. In plumes of smoke, shadows emerge forth, landing all around them.

“Phew, it’s cramped in there.” Hokusai groaned, now rubbing at her head. “Couldn't ya make it more compact?”

“Not my problem. I’m no Caster Servant, you ought to ask one of them.” Sasori shrugs, now glancing at the others from the first scroll.

Musashi gives a yawn, stretching out her arms. Kotaro glances around, then back to Sasori.

“Something is wrong for you to summon us out.” Kotaro points out. “what happened?”

“Well, it looks like we might have incarnated.” Sasori begins, narrowing his eyes. “Although I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing.”

“Well you ought to tell the others.” Hokusai said with a drawl.

Sighing, Sasori removes the following scrolls and simultaneously summons the other three, prompting a cluster of Servants to appear.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

The sun began to fall over the horizon after getting a rough idea of what’s occurred. From a test of skirmishes, it appeared most of the Servants from Chaldea partially incarnated,allowing them upon entering this world use chakra and nourish its energy.

It appeared to be an innate thing, so they’d be able to work independently and remotely, should push come to shove. Most were unable to turn into spirit form, prompting them to go over basics of chakra control and simple ninjutsu; the group of Servants were pretty exhausted.

The best part was Ritsuka seemed unaffected by the mass amount of Servants present. She didn’t appear fatigued, which was a plus, leading them to teach her and Mashu the basics as well.

As night fell, Sasori returned most of the Servant’s back into the scrolls, aside from Hokusai, Musashi and Kotaro. Getting the comms to connect had taken some time, but they were able to get through.

“So that’s what happened.” Da Vinci said, “I wonder if we’ll have to summon the usual way, or the way you guys do?”

“Once we get to the next town, we’ll attempt.” Konan said, “it’s strange we haven’t been attacked yet.”

Most of their crew had gone out to get supplies for a fire and get food for Ritsuka and Mashu. It prompted them to scatter into the forest. 

“Strangely, the comms have been stable since connecting.... no hacking on your side either.” Sion said. 

“Yes, it could be to lull us into a false sense of security.” Sasori notes, “we cannot leave our guard down.”

Lo and behold, there’s a rustle from the bushes, prompting for Konan to stand. From the underbrush, Hidan emerged. Konan raised her hand, much to the surprise of everyone.

“Stop. “ Konan commanded. “You are to answer my question.”

“Question? The hell is that supposed to mean!” Hidan exclaimed.

“Shut up and listen to me.” Konan barked, glancing briefly at Sasori. “Who was it that formed the Akatsuki?”

“Uh, Pain and you, yeah?” Hidan asks, now. Taking another step forward. 

“Who monopolized on the original Akatsuki?” Konan lifts a brow, scrutinizing him.

“Uchiha Madara, obviously!” Hidan shouted. 

“Wrong.” Konan said, a wave of her hand and paper shot out through him.

Typically Hidan is able to withstand an attack like that, but this one melted. His clothes were replaced with a sickly white and green hair. Sasori reaches into his belt, narrowing his eyes. He threw up his scroll, and the Third Kazekage emerged. Before the enemy could get an attack in, he sent the Kage over and sliced right through him with saw. It dissipated into a thick black mist, dispersing immediately.

“There might be more where that came from.” Konan noted, “I wonder where they were off too?

“Should we investigate?” Sasori questioned. “I wonder where the others are.”

“I’ll go look.” Konan said, attempting to leave. Sasori grabs her shoulder. “What?”

“You’re the only sensor amongst us, we can cover our backs this way.” Sasori said. “We won’t be able to tell otherwise.”

“We’ll keep the scoop out for you.” Da Vinci said, “looks like there are several signatures up ahead. Our readings for Kakazu, Hidan and the others are there.”

“Roger that.” Mashu said, “it’s better if we go together!”

A cluster of iron sand pools around Sasori, Mashu and Ritsuka’s feet. With a nod, Konan divided herself, flying off into the night. The iron sand lifts, following her paper birds in quick pursuit.

In the depths of the forest, lay a mountain, with an opening inside. Konan reforms herself partially, glancing behind toward them.

“I can sense them up ahead.” Konan said, “be prepared for anything.”

Konan dives inside, splitting off into a collection of cranes. Sasori waves his hand and the iron sand slithers after her. The tunnels were uncomfortably tight and humid, prompting Sasori to cover for Mashu and Ritsuka’s heads from being sliced off with the iron sand. They flew through the tight twists and turns, leading into a larger cavern.

Fire and wind flew over head, melting a hoard of white and green. Screams erupted and echoed, bouncing off the cavern walls.

“ _Wha_ –” Ritsuka gasped, gaze dropping down to the ground. “I see them!”

In the midst of the fighting, Kakazu, Hidan, Musashi, Kotaro and Hokusai were fighting off the disintegrating hoard.

“So this is where you were!” Mashu yelled. “I’ll be engaging in a moment!”

Mashu leaps off the platform, materializing her shield. She slams into a hoard of the Zetsu, cleaning off the heads from their necks. Konan also dives into the fray, her birds aligning themselves into a spider web and detonating, annihilating a group that cornered Hokusai.

“Thanks for the help!” Hokusai called, summoning forth a wave from her brush. The brush stroke throws the Zetsu up in the air with a shriek. 

Kotaro jumps over, throwing one of his wind shuriken and slicing their heads clean. The bodies quickly disintegrated, and their backs touched as more crawled from underneath the ground.

Sasori brings the Third close, making the platform smaller. A large part of it separated, floating in the air,, curling and aimlessly hovering around.

“Try not to die!” Sasori commanded, flexing his hand and the iron sand split off creating another platform. 

The platform descends, shooting out at the remnants like vipers, spikes forging into the Zetsu mercilessly. They disintegrated into darkness dissipating before their eyes. 

“Looks like they’ve been all defeated here.” Da Vinci observed, “but there are more signatures further inside.”

“Is that so?” Ritsuka’s expression is grim. “but we ought to reconvene first.”

Sasori wordlessly nods, lowering the iron sand to the floor of the cave. Konan swooped in, reforming herself, joining the others who awaited on the floor. 

“I thought all the Zetsu were dead.” Ritsuka frowns. “what happened?”

“Well... we did gather stuff for the fire, but Hidan got attacked.” Kotaro said, while Hidan groaned. “And we followed his attacker back to this cave, which led us here....”

“We did find strange symbols in the cave.” Hokusai said, while her father lifted up a particular chunk of the wall.

“Those are....Otsutsuki markings.” Konan said, glancing further into the cavern. “Which means...”

“We’re in Otsutsuki ruins then.” Sasori said.

“It must be ruins leftover from Kaguya, then.” Kakazu mutters, “let’s search further inside.”

The group followed close together, entering the tunnels again. It was a short trip, leading into a larger cavern, where a large bud glowed in front of them.

“There’s a large container of magical energy in front of you.” Da Vinci said, “what’s your visual?”

“We better uproot this flower then.” Sasori said. “But we ought to investigate underneath.”

“I’ll cut the flower then!” Musashi offered, now removing her blade from her shoulder. “Or will. I’ll wait until after you investigate.”

“We’ll stay up here then.” Konan said, looking toward Hidan and Hokusai. “Go with the Master to check it out”

“Let’s go.” Sasori said, with Mashu and Ritsuka following suit. 

Sasori, Kotaro, Kakazu and Ritsuka and Mashu dropped into the pit below. Underneath laid the vines of the flower, various white cocoons laying about and overhead. Some of them were squirming, attempting to escape. 

“Seems like this seedbed is still active.” Kakazu droned, allowing for his hearts to jump out from his back. “We ought to destroy them.”

“I wonder if the shinobi have been trying to destroy them.” Sasori observed, making a survey glance. 

Going further inside, leads to a large rock. Kakazu’s fire and wind heart combined, blasting it open. A large, unshapely form emerged from inside. Multiple heads attached to its bulky body and it let out a roar. Kakazu’s hearts sent another blast, opening the way. They ducked inside, leading them to an army of Zetsu. The roots of the plant had burrowed down into the lower cavern, its branches of the flower’s roots draped overhead. Some contained unopened cocoons, others had broken up wandering restlessly. 

When they entered, silence lapsed briefly until they began to charge. 

“Just perfect.” Sasori grunted, waving about his hands, “let’s kill them all.”

“Gladly.” Kakazu said, and the rest of his hearts crawled out from his back.

“Should we summon some of the others?” Kotaro asked, to which Sasori nods.

Sasori flung the scroll from his belt to Kotaro. “Just apply some chakra to it, like we practiced.”

“Right!” Kotaro obeys, flinging it up in the air.

A large plume of smoke emerged, shadows scattered, revealing a handful of their allies.

“My, my, what unsightly things.” Shuten Douji gauged, glancing over to Sasori.. Her lip curls upward. “An appetizer, Sasori-han?”

“Let’s burn them all, Shuten!” Ibaraki cheered, brandishing her blade and she flew into the crowd.

“Be careful, Kintoki dear.” Raikou cooed, now brandishing her blade. “These eye sores will distract me from the other bugs with us.”

Tomoe Gozen wordlessly summoned forth flames from her arrows, shooting them out. Despite cringing by his mother’s affections, Kintoki nods, slamming his axe into the crowd. The electricity and fire combined, engulfing the Zetsu in a larger fire. Yagyu wordlessly stepped forward as well from this group, diving into fray.

“It appears I must give them salvation.” Kiara remarked, expression solemn. “such sad, pathetic creatures.”

“And  _ I _ will pray for you.” Hozuin remarked, now getting into his stance to retaliate. 

The chaos is short lived, where their combined efforts snuff them out. Tomoe arched her arrows, setting them ablaze and let them fly. The fire spread, causing the flowers roots to catch on fire and it followed through the ceiling and through the walls. 

Okita lowers her blade, plodding up to Sasori, placing a firm hand onto his shoulder. She spits out blood, looking grave.

“Please,  _ please _ put me into a separate scroll.” Okita pleads, “it was  _ hell _ in there.”

“Hm.” Sasori contemplates, surveying the damage. “I’ll think it over.”

“Urgh…...” Okita hangs her head dejectedly, as she sheaths her sword. “Are we letting this place stand?”

“Yes.” Sasori said, looking around. “Because it’s part of a mountain, if there's a village nearby we don’t need any repercussions prompting suspicion.”

“That might already be happening, actually.” Ritsuka whispered, as shadows emerged from the pathway leading outward. 

Telling from the flak jacket, a Konoha jounin approaches, followed by three genin. One in particular stood out to Sasori, prompting him to frown.

“Woah.” The blond said, “that’s a lot of enemies.”

“We don’t know that,” the blue haired youth replies mildly. “Their comrades said otherwise.”

“You.” The jounin’s voice is hard, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“I should be asking the same thing.” Sasori replies wryly, tilting his hand. 

Glancing at Sasori, Kotaro hides the summoning scroll underneath his arm.

“Um, we came to investigate!” Ritsuka announced, attempting to dissolve any tension. “The only thing we did was defeat the foes inside here.”

“Huh.” The jounin said, “and what were those?”

“White Zetsu.” Sasori nonchalantly remarks. “Seems like you Konoha nin are slow on the uptake.”

The Konoha nin frowns, “You’ll be coming with us, since the Hokage has come to investigate.”

Sparing a glance at Ritsuka, Sasori nods. He turns to Kotaro, who he beckons. Kotaro throws the scroll over to him, prompting the Konoha nin on the defensive.

“It’s probably best we can keep this a secret.” Sasori said, beckoning those summoned in front of him.

They gather, some more begrudging than others and he seals them all inside much to their astonishment.

“There.” Sasori said, tilting his chin upward with a half lidded gaze. “I hope the Hokage doesn’t keep us waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow we're finally in the boruto section of this fic? wow! also for reference to the mystic code and what it looks like, check out my tumblr @ tadanomarz to find art of it! i'm planning to upload more sketches up there soon actually! I wonder what'll happen next?  
> Speaking of which, I have the next chapter mostly written out and it's in the editing phase. I've also realized I need to have some consistency, so some of the Lands in future chapters will be referred to in English whereas the Hidden Villages won't. 
> 
> I'd love to see speculation of who'll appear next, any potential "Servant Shinobi"? who may appear? until next time!


	9. Rooted In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hokage comes to a decision, and information is divulged.

The Konoha nin quietly accompanied them out of the cavern, climbing up from the pit and returning to the entrance. On their way out, they saw how the roots from the flower burned away, reduced to ash. The Konoha nin briefly divulged they were returning from a mission but investigated the area upon confronting a Zetsu outside themselves. As of now, they’ve been waiting outside for a couple of minutes, separated into two different groups. The Konoha nin remained a safe distance away, occasionally exchanging glances, periodically looking over to them. The Chaldeans remained near the mouth of the cave, their weapons all packed away. 

Mashu, Ritsuka and Kotaro have been exchanging remarks about Hidan– how he got ambushed by the Zetsu and how the others pried them off. Musashi was jabbering away with Konan and Hokusai, while Sasori kept his back against the wall near the mouth of the cave. Kakazu and Hidan were close to Sasori, the former preventing the latter from yelling at Ritsuka, caught at the scruff of his Jashinist necklace. The tense silence ends abruptly when a huge chakra signature jumps down, followed by a handful of Konoha nin following after him. The Hokage’s expression flashes with bewilderment upon seeing them all. 

“Uzumaki Naruto.” Konan greets nonchalantly, prompting the Hokage’s men to exchange a glance. “Good evening.” 

“The number one knuckle head shinobi!” Ritsuka exclaims, but quickly covers her mouth, while Mashu appears scandalized, trying to _shhh_ her.

Naruto blinks, astonished, then begins to laugh as he approaches her.

“Konan.” Naruto smiles fondly. “I hadn’t expected to see you....here.” 

The same kindness isn’t reserved to Sasori or the other Akatsuki members however. The Hokage ignores them, now a few feet taller. It makes sense, given what despair they dragged him through. 

“I take it you've been making great strides to a better future?” Konan inquires, her tone carrying heaviness despite the flippancy. 

“I always keep my word, ya know. ” Naruto said, his voice lowers, glancing around. “Nagato isn’t with you?”

“I’m sure we can offer a proper explanation in your office.” Konan smooths over, glancing to the shinobi behind him. “Rest assured, we want the same as you.”

“Then you’ll be accompanied back by Team 7.” Naruto asserts, glancing over toward them.

“I have to thoroughly check the cavern, so I’ll return a little after you.”

Naruto turns toward them, gesturing over. The Jounin approaches them cautiously, turning to Naruto. The Hokage gives him a brief order, which surprises him.

“Then you’ll be coming with us.” The Jounin said, “if you’ll follow us.”

“It’s been a long day, I’m sure.” Ritsuka steps in between them, smiling. “We have a camp set up not too far away from here.”

“Is that so?” The Jounin appears surprised, and glances at Naruto who nods. “We’ll be in your care then. ”

Naruto smiles widens, now heading in with his men into the cavern. The trek back to the camp is a short one, but it feels longer because of the silence between them. Their camp mostly appeared untouched, but the fire looked close to being snuffed out. The first thing Mashu does before plopping down is feed a piece of their remaining wood into the fire.

Everyone follows suit, including their babysitters, the last to sit is the Jounin. He peers at them from across the fire, staring intently. The one who breaks the ice, is of course the blond brat who exhales loudly.

“What’s the big deal about knowing my old man?” The kid grumbles, while his jounin sensei shoots him a look. “You guys are friends of his too?”

Hidan bursts into laughter, slapping at his knee. Konan shuts him up by discreetly flicking paper into his mouth, prompting him to gag instead.

“Not quite.” Konan replies vaguely, “but we all knew him in the past.”

“How did you know Hokage-sama?” The dark haired kunoichi asked, adjusting her glasses. 

“Did you think we’d divulge such information carelessly?” Kakazu grunts, directly a look toward them. “It’d be wasted on brats like you”

“But doesn’t that make you even more suspicious?” The blue haired shinobi asks, tilting his head owlishly. “Besides... you all look familiar.”

“Wha— Mitsuki, you’ve seen some of these people before?!” The blond blabbered, earning a scalding look from his other teammate.

“My parent might have had documents with their faces on them.” The boy, Mitsuki replies, gaze lingering on Ritsuka and Mashu. “...But not those two.”

“Well, since we’re in your care, we ought to get to know each other then!” Ritsuka offered with a smile, much to everyone’s surprise. “I’ll start, I’m Ritsuka!”

She elbows Mashu, whose shoulders jump. 

“I’m Mashu, pleasure to meet you all.” Mashu introduces herself, fumbling with her fingers. “What about all of you?”

“Mitsuki, as previously mentioned.” Mitsuki then turns over to his teammates expectantly.

“The name is Boruto.” The blond grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Mine is Sarada.” The kunoichi waves.

“I’m …. Konohamaru.” The jounin slowly replies.

Now that had gotten Sasori’s attention. His glazes flicker over to Konan who remains impassive.

“I am Konan, previously from Amegakure.” Konan said, much to their own allies' bafflement. 

Konan glances at them, with an expectant gleam. The other Servants seemed a little more responsive to the uptake.

“I’m Musashi!” The Saber introduced with a grin. 

“ Kotaro.” The Assassin nods.

“Name’s Oui.” The calligrapher said with a wave.

Sasori exchanges a quiet glance between Hidan and Kakazu, then turns toward the genin. 

“Sasori, previously of Sunagakure.” Sasori introduces, now leaning back against a tree.

“Kakazu, formally of Takigakure.” Kakazu said, now gesturing toward Hiden who was still spitting out paper. “And this idiot is Hidan, from Yugakure.

“What kind of name is Hidan?” Boruto asked, to which Kakazu shrugged.

“Shut the hell up, Kakazu!” Hidan said between spitting out paper. “I’ll kill you!”

“I’d like to see you try.” Kakazu muttered, turning his eyes to the fire.

As Kakazu and Hiden got into another argument, Konohamaru took the opportunity to speak.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I remember you.” Konohamaru said tensely, “You and your partner nearly destroyed Konoha years ago.”

“Wh- really?!” Boruto exclaimed. “Then why was Dad so chummy with her then?”

“I’m assuming you were at the incident then?” Konan asked, “Be assured we quietly left that incident after Hokage-sama spoke to us. My partner restored the lives of your shinobi.”

Mitsuki glances between them all, leaning forward. “I get it now, you all were part of the Akatsuki.”

“The Akatsuki—?!” Sarada blinked, then gasped. “But weren’t they all defeated?”

“Yes.” Konan replies vaguely, “I’m assuming we’ll be treated as S rank mission upon entering the village. Like I told Hokage-sama, we’ll be cooperating with you all.”

“Konan wouldn’t lie about this kinda thing.” Ritsuka reassures with a smile. 

“Then what are you doing with former Akatsuki members then?” Mitsuki tilts his head. “It can’t be out of coincidence, can it?”

“Um....now that...would be a long story.” Ritsuka replies sheepishly, “but enough about me, tell me about yourselves!”

Team 7 exchange a glance, the tense atmosphere dispersing. Boruto begins first, he naturally starts himself off. It delved into their hobbies outside of being shinobi, how they’ve been out in the field for a couple of months, doing boring missions and nothing exciting. Kotaro unconsciously leaned in, impassive to the whole thing. Oui and Musashi chimed into the conversation when it dove into food, which naturally started a debate of what was better. Konohamaru also begrudgingly joined in as well, but kept a dutiful eye on the former Akatsuki members.

They talked into the night, but most of them began to go asleep. Sasori also turned in, the last he saw was Ritsuka engaging with the kids with Mashu as sleep claimed him. He had a couple of hours until his night shift, so he allowed himself to fall. 

* * *

Returning to Konoha became a trial in itself. Since Ritsuka and Mashu we’re unable to catch up with the rest of them, Sasori summoned forth the Third Kazekage who pooled iron sand under their feet to levitate them. The other children took the sight in amazement. After a handful of questions later, they set off, getting to the village gates in half a day. To Chaldea’s team’s amazement, Konoha was buzzing with activity, it’s streets busy with civilians and shinobi. The Hidden Village clearly got several upgrades over the years, it made them wonder how technology progressed so quickly. 

Waiting for them at the gate was an older man, spotting a goatee and spiked hair. The man’s gaze hardened as the group approached the gate. 

“Look Kakazu,” Hidan whispered to the other, “ _that_ brat’s also grown up too.”

“Seems he survived the war as well.” Kakazu hummed, glancing at the others.

“I take it you’re the guests the Hokage’s clone mentioned?” The man asked, clearly exasperated already. 

Ritsuka jumped off from the iron sand that dissipated and walked forward. Mashu followed after her, wringing out her arms in front of her. The sand returned back to the Third’s mouth, who disappeared once its task completed back into Sasori’s scroll.

“That’ll be us!” Ritsuka announced, raising an arm. “are you our guide?”

“I am Nara Shikamaru, our Hokage’s advisor.” The man said, glancing over toward Konohamaru. “Your team is to come too.”

Konohamaru nods, while his team appears surprised.

“Come, follow me then.” Shikamaru said, now turning on his heel.

The stroll through Konoha is a relatively peaceful one. The last time Sasori had been here, it was years ago– when he was still a brat, prior to leaving Suna for good. His former mentor and Kage assigned him to deliver a message to the current Hokage at the time. Compared to the world he now lived in, Konoha appeared fairly modernized. Ritsuka took in the sights in amazement, gaze sparkling as everything soaked in. 

“Kinda reminds me of Tokyo.” Ritsuka whispered to Sasori, while pointing out the televisions and wide screens erected up high. He could only nod silently in agreement to her assessment. 

Getting to the Hokage’s quarters is a breeze compared to their trek beforehand. Shikamaru led them up the stairs, through a door and down a long spiraling hallway. Eventually they came to a door, which he opened up. It creaks open and their large group moves inside in a single file line.

Inside, Naruto leaned back in his desk chair, flanked by two shinobi. Sasori recognized them both, but remained quiet. Oui closes the door behind her, since she was the last to enter.

Team 7 moves off to the side for their guests to space themselves out. Those of Chaldea moved into a large group in front of his desk.

“Ah, good to see you’re all here, but Konohamaru tells me you’ve more allies amongst you.” Naruto said, now leaning forward on his hands. “Where are they?”

“Sealed away.” Sasori offers, now meeting eye contact with a particular kunoichi. “What an apt reunion, this is....to have the Slug Princess’s apprentice and Copy Cat Kakashi in the same room.”

Ritsuka’s head snapped immediately toward Sasori, mouthing ‘ _that's her?!’_ to him. The kunoichi in question appeared to become irritated by the display.

“This isn’t the Reanimation Jutsu, hm?” Kakashi inquires, “So this is why you called both of us here, Naruto.”

Naruto nods, breathing out a sigh through his nose. “It’s different from the Reanimation Jutsu, because when I tapped into the Nature energy…. there’s something off.” He briefly pauses to glance toward them. “ Thank you both for coming today, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan.”

There’s a tense pause, as the former Akatsuki size up the Konoha shinobi. Ritsuka looks between them, tightening her first onto her jacket. The material crinkles from how tight her grip is. 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Naruto. “ Sakura crosses her arms, glaring at Sasori.. “How bold of you to enter Konoha’s borders, are you trying to harm us _again_?”

“Look, we aren’t trying to start a fight.” Ritsuka frowns, hands raising upward. “That’s the last thing we want to do, we don’t want to get _you_ nor your citizens involved.”

“What is it that you desire then?” Kakashi asked from a sidelong glance. “The fact you have dead former criminals is troubling.”

Ritsuka stifles a chuckle, because there’s so many more and worse at her disposal. Sasori cracks a slight smile too, but Kakashi gives a look of disapproval to that. 

“We desire peace,” Konan asserts calmly, “that’s all.”

“Awfully vague, isn’t it? You beating around the brush isn’t really helping your case.” Shikamaru presses. “It almost sounds similar to your agenda.”

Mashu and Ritsuka exchange a glance between one another. 

“Um. Well this is a pickle, haha...” Ritsuka begins, while she plays with her hands. “For starters, we’re just here to protect you all from something of ours, also these guys—“ She points to Kakazu, Hidan, Sasori and Konan. “They’re, well- what you’d call a summons— they’re my familiars? We fight together, nice to meet you, I’m Ritsuka!”

The group of adults mutely exchange glances. 

“Summons?” Kakashi speaks first, narrowing his eyes toward her. “Then this must be some forbidden jutsu you’ve acquired; summoning former criminals makes you dangerous.”

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Konan said, garnering their attention. She places a comforting hand onto her shoulder. “Ritsuka isn’t an actual shinobi, but a civilian by our standards.”

“What? Then how? Even though I’m from a civilian family, I had the capacity to become one.” Sakura shoots back, “it doesn’t explain how she was able to do it.”

“Have you ever considered the possibilities of alternate realities?” Ritsuka proposed, “I’ve been told of people capable of those feats exist here.”

The room becomes silent again, prompting Ritsuka to clear her throat. 

“This world is completely different from my own— heck, even before my current job, I hadn’t known much about that either. To me, this isn’t an alternate reality, rather an entirely new world.” Ritsuka explains, then turns toward Sasori. “If I hadn’t summoned my friends here, I wouldn’t even have known of such pressing issues.”

Ritsuka turns back to Naruto, whose expression is neutral. 

“How can you calmly call them your friends?” Sakura asks, voice hardened by disbelief. “When they killed too many innocent people?”

Ritsuka’s expression falls, but becomes solemn.

“Not everyone should be defined so black and white. besides from the time they have worked with me, I’ve seen them grow.” Ritsuka looks down at her gloved hands, the material crinkling together. “No one is innocent, not even me— but they have helped me countless times to save humanity. Please believe us .”

“I see.” Naruto said, raising a brow, eyes scanning the former Akatsuki’s faces. “And what are you trying to save us from?”

“We have a common enemy.” Ritsuka asserts; “we believe they have acquired the means to cross dimensions, or have acquired something from our world and brought it here. We’re here to destroy it.”

“We just happened upon them when we arrived here.” Sasori speaks up, his arms crossed. “I thought Zetsu had been killed.”

“You can’t seriously believe them, Naruto? We sealed Kaguya and Black Zetsu away.” Sakura exclaimed, “There’s no way—-!”

“Even though there was an active factory producing them? Right under your nose?” Sasori shoots back, frowning. “How negligent.”

Sakura fumes with anger, turning to face him accusingly. Naruto doesn’t react toward the criticism, sighing once again. He turns toward Shikamaru, “Call for Ino, I want to confirm something.”

“What a pain.” Shikamaru murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you sure you can believe them that easily?”

“I can see it in Ritsuka-chan’s sincerity.” Naruto said, “I want to believe in her, so getting a confirmation of her being truthful will sell it to me.”

“Alright, I’ll go get her.” Shikamaru sighed, disappearing in a body flicker.

* * *

Awaiting for Ino doesn’t take too long, maybe a couple of minutes. Shikamaru brings her in tow through the Hokage’s office door, initially surprised with how crowded the office is. While waiting, they put aside chairs for both Ritsuka and Ino to sit on.

Most of her Servants stand for the side, away from her while she does her job. Ritsuka’s been twiddling her thumbs, while Mashu and Konan stand behind her. Shikamaru gestures toward the chair, prompting the blond to exchange a look between Sakura and the Hokage and then to the girl in front of her.

Plopping down into the chair, Ino smiles and Ritsuka exchange brief greetings. Ino’s job is easy, because Ritsuka agreed to this. Taking a deep breath, she forms the necessary hand sign for her clan’s jutsu and shoots her mind into the girls. Sakura steps forward to prevent her from falling off her chair, holding her firmly against the chair's back. Upon entering Ritsuka’s mind, Ino gets to work; she unravels the film of her memories, scouring the records.

What she finds is….

Tragedy, the guilt of being unable to save, being unable to do another. The hopes of the people, in order to save a future. Monsters pop up at every turn, clawing and dragging her town. But she is saved by a sea of hands, pushing her up.

Fire ravaged Fuyuki down to the ground, burnt and slaughtered the people of France, tore through bonds between the Romans, and seas separated those in Okeanos. The revelations of London are too much for her, but she keeps digging, watching the sacrifices made across the American Frontier, the innocents killed during the Holy Selection in Camelot. She can hardly stomach the atrocities from Babylonia.

Time after time, Ritsuka is relentless, pushing through tragedy. 

Sacrifice.

Sacrifice. _Sacrifice_ . **_Sacrifice._ **

They’re building up. 

Ino flies through the Remnants, speeding through the mysteries they contained and witnessing the whitening of the world. Again, tragedy cycles with the loss of comrades, of the innocents, of the Crypters.

Even those whose worlds were at the verge of collapse, Ino tries to wipe away her tears.

It’s so much, prompting Ino to dispel the jutsu. Sakura catches Ino as she startles awake, glancing over to Naruto with worry.

“Oh, they’re definitely telling the truth.” Ino frowns, “their entire world is....”

“You don’t gotta worry about that, Yamanaka-san.” Ritsuka said sheepishly. “It’s a work in progress.”

“Their world is what?” Shikamaru asked, voice tinged with curiosity. 

“It’s completely white, a wasteland...but they’ve been....” Ino sullenly concludes.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gone through all of it.” Ritsuka looks embarrassed.. “I mean, it’s devastating stuff, I’m sorry that it saddened you.”

“So what you’re saying is...” Shikamaru uncomfortably begins, “they’re telling the truth.”

Ino frowns, then takes Ritsuka into a tight hug. “Honestly, this girl needs some relaxation time!”

“It’s worrying you’ve come all this way, but I’m grateful you’ve come.” Naruto says, “I’m choosing to believe them, so they are to be guests during their stay.”

“Right, right...” Shikamaru said, now glancing at Ritsuka as well. “That’s the fastest time I’ve seen Ino uncover memories, so I’ll choose to believe you as well.”

“Team 7.” Naruto calls, prompting them to stand a bit straighter. “Can you report what has occurred as well?”

“So far we were returning back from our previous mission in the Land of Tea, where we were guarding our previous client. We found an abandoned campsite— which we later learned to be Ritsuka-san’s group.” Konohamaru reports in, “but we were then attacked while investigating, because the fire looked freshly lit. We encountered the White Zetsu who attempted to attack us.”

“Yeah, which led us to that cave we found. That’s where we met with Musashi-san, Konan-san, Oui-san and Hidan-san. Konan-san directed us beneath the flower that suddenly began to burn.” Sarada continues, “they let us pass to investigate beneath it....which led us to watch them slaughter the enemies inside.”

“They didn’t leave any for us to take on.” Boruto added, slipping his hands into his new jacket. 

“Oh and we reported to Hokage-sama prior to going underneath.” Mitsuki chips in at the end. “That about wraps it up.”

Naruto hums to himself, deep in thought. A beat goes by, with everyone looking at him expectantly.

And then he has a eureka moment, all wide eyed and confident.

“I have decided that you all will be staying with us for the time being.” Naruto began, with a slight smile despite the confusion that set over the room.

“Don’t tell me....” Hidan groaned in the back, the first time since they came inside.

“Thus, we will have some of our shinobi house you for the time being.” Naruto said, “which includes my own.”

“ _Seriously_ old man?” Boruto shouted. “We don’t have the room for all these people!”

“We’ve slept on worse.” Ritsuka said sheepishly, “But Hokage-sama, you don’t need to do that, we... we can find a hotel or something.”

“But... If you aren’t from this world, I doubt you have the currency, right?” Naruto asked, watching Ritsuka’s expression fall. “Besides, I’m rather curious of the people you’ve brought with you, since they’ve been sealed away for the time being.”

“Hold up, Naruto, who did you even have in mind anyway?” Shikamaru asked, brow furrowing. “You can’t just hand them off to any other Shinobi, they aren’t as hospitable as you.”

“Haha, actually...” Naruto scratches the back of his neck. “I was thinking... the rest of the Konoha 11?”

“This... is going to be hard to explain to Temari.” Shikamaru muttered.

“I don’t think my house can even House a lot of people.” Sakura adds frowning. “Did you even think this through? Or how Hinata might feel about it?”

“Actually, I was hoping to call them here as well.” Naruto said, prompting various gasps. “To introduce everyone.”

“Can’t believe we’re playing house.” Kakazu mutters, closing his eyes in exasperation. 

Turning to Ino, Naruto sheepishly looks over to her and without a word she sighs too.

“Honestly, even if you’re the Hokage, some things don’t change.” Ino said, now flying through the necessary hand signs to send a message. “ _Ahem, hello everyone, I’m apologizing I may be bothering you but I’ve a message from the Hokage to you to report to the tower as soon as possible._ ”

Getting up from his desk, Naruto walks his desks and starts heading to his door. “I’ll lead you all up to the roof.”

Exchanging a glance, the Chaldeans follow his lead outside followed by the Konoha shinobi. The climb isn’t as long as the previous one and within minutes they’re atop the Hokage tower. 

Bright blue skies is the first thing they see, there isn’t a cloud in sight. Upon getting to the top, the first thing Ritsuka does is head to the guard rails to look at the city spread out for them. Mashu joins by her side, gawking at the view before them.

While the other Servants and genin join them by the guard railing, the former Akatsuki members stand in the middle of the rooftop with the Konoha nin.

“For you guys, I’d prefer if you’ve used a disguise when walking around the village.” Naruto began, looking at Konan. 

“I can imagine it’d kick up quite the fuss.” Konan agreed. “Are we limited to using them when not accompanied by those you are bringing now?”

“Yes, for the foreseeable future.” Naruto said with another nod. He now turns to Sasori, who has been looking everywhere but at him. “You said the rest of them are sealed away?”

“Hm? Ah yes.” Sasori lazily looks over and nods. He grabs the scrolls in question and hands one off to Konan and Kakazu. “They’re inside the summoning scrolls, all quite varied in abilities.”

“Not all of them are human, however.” Konan adds nonchalantly. “There are beings inside who are on par to bijuu and Gods inside.”

If Naruto is shocked, he hides it well with a carefree smile. “I’m sure we can handle that, we took down Kaguya, ya know?”

“You best not let that arrogance consume you, like it did with Nagato.” Konan frowns, “Also to note, since coming here, it appears our allies have been partially incarnated here, they’re able to use basic jutsu.”

Several shadows jump down onto the roof, much to the surprise of Ritsuka and the others by the guard rail. A group of shinobi appear before the Hokage’s group now. It prompts for those by the rail guard to join in with the rest of the group. An expected exclamation of surprise, concern and edge and hostility are aimed at the former Akatsuki. But Naruto steps in front of them, with his arms held out wide. 

“Everyone, I’ve summoned you all here because not only are you my most trusted friends but commendable allies.” Naruto begins, quieting the mass confusion from the group. “There is something I must discuss with you all.”

The moment Naruto’s mouth starts moving, a calming wave washes over them. It’s almost like it’s a spell, up until the very end. When Naruto finishes briefing them on the mission laid out to them, a gentle yet firm voice speaks first.

“Naruto-kun. Then where are those we’ll be meeting to house?” Uzumaki Hinata inquires with a slight frown directed at her husband. “How will you coordinate for them to protect the village?”

“For the time being, they’ll be assigned to the village as an extra set of hands.” Naruto said, now turning to Sasori. “If you’d do the honors.”

“What honor?” Sasori scoffed, now thumbing to the beginning of the scroll and uncurling it. “Here we go.”

Konan and Kakazu follow Sasori’s lead, and simultaneously a large cloud descends atop the tower. It quickly dispersed, the light haze slowly lifting to reveal a crowd of people. No one says anything at first, but of course the first to do so is—-

“— The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, I Oda Nobunaga has arrived! Archer Class! Behold my greatness!” Nobunaga announced with glee, her body slowly levitating into the air. But she crashes back to the Earth after Okita tugs her back down roughly.

“You can’t just announce yourself like that, Nobbu!” Okita yelled in distraught, “they can get the wrong idea.”

“Hmph, I had to becauses there’s too many tall people here!” Nobunaga argues back. “Besides it was just a ploy to get a better view of the city!”

Their theatrics lead both sides to laugh now as Servants and shinobi intermingle. True Names and Class names were quickly exchanged amongst the group, as they got to know one another. Naruto grabs ahold of Ritsuka and begins to introduce her and Mashu to the others now too.

In the middle of this, Sasori mostly has tuned the chatter out; he’s so used to the hustle and bustle in Chaldea. While he was spacing out, a firm hand grips onto his shoulder, followed by a gasp.

“You have _flesh_.” Sakura enunciates the last word firmly, taken aback.

“And so do you, _obviously_.” Sasori wryly smiles. “Girl, long time no see.”

Sakura glowered at him, dropping her arm to her side. “You’ll be coming with me.”

“Is that a threat?” Sasori lifts a brow. “Or because you’re feeling responsible for my grandmother’s death?”

Sakura grimaces at the thought, then sighs. 

“I want to see through my own eyes that girl was right.” Sakura retorted. “Have you really changed? Or are you still playing the puppet?”

“Touché. I’m humbled you care.” Sasori retorts with sarcasm. “Who knows?”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Sakura sighs heavily. “You really are annoying, I didn’t believe we’d be on the same side.”

“You did ask me why I couldn’t change, but here’s the new and improved me.” Sasori remarks dryly. “Anyway, anyone else you fancy, because I can find someone else to room with us.”

Rosy in embarrassment, Sakura looks away at that moment.

“You...didn’t mingle with anyone else.” Sasori blinks, then glances back toward the talkative crowd. He spots someone else hanging around. “Shiki!”

Glancing up, the woman in the red coat and blue kimono walks over. “Yo, puppet man.”

“There’s also Chiyome, but that depends on how many people you can house.” Sasori said, with an afterthought. “I guess.”

Dragging a hand across her face, Sakura looks even more exhausted. “ Call them over. “

* * *

The meet and greet goes smoothly, despite the initial rough start. Those summoned will be shown where they will be staying and report back to the Hokage to speak with him again. Rock Lee seemed enthusiastic upon meeting with Musashi, who looked like she wanted to fight. Kiara appeared to admire his strength and will, while Izou managed to be mostly dragged into some kind of training session. 

Akichimi Chouji led Tawara Touta back to his home, followed by Ibaraki Douji who was tempted by the food and Kakazu back home. Their conversation began after discussing different kinds of food, with Chouji surprised by the amount of a rice Touta carried. Shikamaru meanwhile took Hidan by the scruff of his collar, with Shuten Douji, Amakusa Shirou. Sasori figures it must have been because he felt some responsibility like Sakura had to him. Tenten engaged in the discussion of weaponry with Raikou, Kojiro and Yagyu, mentioning she had enough space at her apartment.

Yamanaka Ino and her husband Sai have a long discussion between Oui and Murasaki. Kotaro is dragged along, tempted to hear about Sai’s technique with ink. Inuzuka Kiba has gotten along pretty well with Kintoki, followed by the well spirited Houzuin. Okita dragged her heels as she followed after them. Although initially wary, Katou Danzo fell in discussion with Aburame Shino who spoke about his teaching career. Nobunaga joined along for the ride with them, followed by Ushiwakamaru and Benkei. 

Hyuuga Hanabi had gathered interest in Oryo, which led Ryouma to tag along with her. Unexpectedly, Konan, Tomoe Gozen joined them, who walked along her sister. Uzamaki Hinata on the other hand led both a Ritsuka and Mashu with her, while Tamamo and Sitonai tagged behind them. Boruto grumbled as he trudged behind them.

Mitsuki and Konohamaru bid their teammates farewell, promising to meet with them later and took off for the day.

They parted at the Hokage tower, with Sasori and the other former Akatsuki members quickly taking on their disguises. Sarada walked side by side with Shiki and Chiyome who Sakura made small talk with. As they reached their destination, the door unlocked as they took off their shoes to come inside. The group sat around their dining room table, with Sarada asking Chiyome a load of questions that she diligently answered. Sakura seemed mostly surprised too, as they began to discuss clans.

“Well, the Uchiha possess a powerful Visual Jutsu called the Sharingan.” Sarada began, “it’s able to predict moves, inflict a genjutsu into a target and copy techniques, which is what Lord Sixth is known for.”

Lord Sixth apparently had been Copy Nin Kakashi, or at least formally was. It was news flash to Sasori, as he rested his chin in his hands. 

“At least, when he had the Sharingan.” Sakura casually adds in. “He lost his during the war.”

“So he’s no longer the Copy Nin Kakashi.” Sasori murmured from a corner of the room.

“Sounds like Mystic Eyes to me.” Shiki commented.

“Wh- Mystic Eyes? What’re those?” Sarada asks, leaning forward. “Are they anything like the Rinnegan or Byakutgan?”

“They’re similar, yet not. In Shiki’s case, hers allow her to perceive death.” Sasori said, turning toward her. “Are you able to perceive them?”

“Let’s find out.” Shiki said, who closed her eyes. Upon opening them, they glow a vivid blue, mixed in with shades of purple. It looks like a new universe waiting to be born.

“Woah! That’s so cool!” Sarada exclaimed. “What can they do?”

“I can perceive the lines of death with them.” Shiki replies, now leaning back in her chair. “Everything here has lines of death, meaning I can cut them with my blade. For example, your sink over there has lines necessary for cutting. ” She looks at Sarada and Sakura, “Good, I can still see the lines on people as well, the ones on humans typically move around more compared to static objects.”

“Wha— lines of death?” Sarada’s taken aback, stroking her chin.. “I wonder if anything like the Byakugan.”

“I suppose it's similar, but unlike it, they don’t perceive chakra points.” Sasori casually adds in. “Believe me, it’s hard to wrap your head around.”

“I see.” Sarada said, “Oh I can’t wait to tell Dad about them!”

“—Oh no, Naruto’s going to tell Sasuke-kun about this.” Sakura muttered, taking her head into her hands. 

“Itachi’s brother?” Sasori’s eyes alight with acknowledgement. “He’s still alive? I remember Deidara having a grudge against him.”

“Of course he’s alive!” Sakura rolled her eyes. “He’s out on a secret mission but I’m sure he’ll tell him.”

Sasori nods, idly surveying their kitchen. Had Suna’s technology advanced like this as well? Before he could get lost in nostalgia, Chiyome slowly rose up in her chair. 

“I must thank you for your hospitality, Uchiha-san.” Chiyome said with a dutiful nod. “I believe we must regroup with Hokage-sama but afterwards we’ll be back for dinner. “

“Ah, yes, dinner.” Shiki drawled, now getting to her feet as well. “We’ll be sure to help out for that later.”

“That reminds me, I have to go back to the hospital. Do you have any other missions, Sarada?” Sakura meets eye contact with her daughter who shakes her head.

“Hokage-sama dismissed us for the day, so I was going to get some training in.” Sarada said. “Might meet up with Chocho after.”

The group continued their discussion as they began to depart, and once out the door everyone went their separate ways. Once they bid each other goodbye, Sasori placed his disguise on and set off with Shiki and Chiyome back to the meeting spot.

“ _Since my office is way too small, meet me atop the Hokage Rock.”_ The Hokage previously mentioned them before they took off. 

It was an easy enough location to get to, being one of the largest monuments in the village. After getting to the base of the mountain, they took their time to climb to the top where most of their allies assembled. Upon seeing them, Ritsuka turned and waved to greet them. They waited a couple more minutes, awaiting some straddlers–– Ibaraki and Shuten ambled aimlessly throughout the streets while cloaked in disguises; Oui and Murasaki got immersed in the tourism a bit, while Kotaro managed to get them there in a timely matter.

“Alright, alright, everyone here?” Naruto clapped his hands together, garnering the group of Servants attention. “Good. I’m happy we’ve gotten some back up, it came at a convenient time.”

“Lately, we’ve been sending shinobi off on missions throughout the Land of Fire, but they haven’t returned.” Naruto began, “We’ve been closely researching the Otsutsuki Clan after the war, yet recently most of those investigations have come to a halt.” 

“So you’re saying you’ve been spread thinly then, you don’t have enough people to investigate the matter.” Konan states, prompting a nod from Naruto. “None have returned alive?”

“....Unfortunately no,” Shikamaru said from Naruto’s side, “And Uchiha Sasuke has been looking into things on his end as well, since he possesses the Rinnegan.” 

“But…” Naruto’s brow furls, then reveals a Ninja Hound from underneath his cloak. “One of them sent their summons our way, before perishing.”

“Yo.” The dog barked, prompting surprise from some of the Servants. He began to scratch behind his ear, “...Large crowd, eh, Hokage-sama?” The dog turns forward, while the Hokage nods toward him.

“Aight, I’ll start– we’d been assigned to investigate disappearances near the border of Kusa. We encountered several ghost towns that were several miles of one another, stripped of its people. All sorts of folks are going missing, from civilians to merchants– it was strange, y’know? By the last village we visited, it was filled with folks...we stayed the night, but…”

The dog summons grimaces.

“They started turning’ into those plant freaks, slaughtered most of my summoner’s squadron, fortunately I got away by disappearing back but….” The dog whines, brows furrowing. “I sensed a terrifying’ presence amongst them, didn’t get good look at who it was but it was some freaky chakra.”

“...That’s troubling to know,” Naruto murmured, stroking at his chin. 

“Eh– hold up, you didn’t know about this!?” Ritsuka exclaimed, watching the Hokage rub the back of his head. 

“Our friend here just healed up, actually, it’s been a few days since he returned back to my office.” Naruto confesses, “ If what you said is true– then…”

“Those flowers that cultivated the White Zetsu are active, which proves to be problematic.” Shikamaru said with a frown. “And these reports have just been from the last couple of weeks, if they’ve been taking over cities, if they spread any more, it’ll get to our allies as well.”

There’s a murmur from the crowd; Sasori’s gaze lingered near Konan who looks deep in thought. The chatter voices ceased upon Ritsuka clearing her throat.

“If you’d allow me, Hokage-sama, I’ll go investigate.” Ritsuka said with a frown, “...If it’s due to the aforementioned problems we’ve brought, then it's our responsibility to put an end to them.”

Naruto looks toward Ritsuka thoughtfully, then smiles. 

“Fear not, we’ll be assembling some of our jounin to accompany you.” Naruto said, “I was thinking of sending in smaller groups for reconnaissance, followed by back up squads in case things get dicey.” 

“Although, Naruto, we don’t even know what half of this group is capable of.” Shikamaru reminds him. “How about we start with, who's capable of reconnaissance?”

“Ah– right,” Naruto sheepishly rubs the back of his head. “Wish we had the time to test their abilities.”

A few hands raise from the crowd, garnering Naruto and Shikamaru’s attention. It namely consisted of the well known shinobi– Danzou, Chiyome, Kotaro to be a few. Konan also raises her hand, which prompts Sasori as well. The last of them raise hands are Ryouma and Okita who were placed in the front of the crowd. From there, they assembled four man squads to cover all bases– with Danzou, Chiyome, Kotaro and Konan teams to infiltrate while Ryouma, Sasori and Okita’s teams would hang back should need arise. 

The rest of the Servants would remain around the village to help around, mostly to patrol the outskirts. As the conclusion of the selection wrapped up, Sasori looked back toward the setting sun. Upon looking toward Ritsuka, a flame of determination could be seen in her eyes.

* * *

An inhuman screech echoes throughout the forest, followed by the ghastly form of a Zetsu to dissolve.

“Looks like they just keep coming.” Someone murmured, now dusting themselves off. “It’s quite unfortunate we’ve been dealt this hand again.”

A large flower attached itself to the overgrown, gnarled tree. It was parasitic, desperately sucking the life from it and more of the Zetsu fell out. They do not last long. A sword swings, detaching the root from the tree and it howls in pain as if it's alive. The roots thrash, attempting once again to attach.

Unfortunately, black flames consume the flower and all of the Zetsu desperately try to climb outside.

“This will keep them occupied..” Another voice mused from above the tree, staring down at the contained flame. “To the next then.”

“Perhaps we should rest for now,” The swordsman said, brow creasing in the darkness overhead. “We still need to rest up from that altercation.” 

“Oh, with him?” Jumping down from the tree, heels click against the gravel. “ It’s just a scratch, think nothing of it.”

“...In any case, we’ll be heading near the border between Kusa and Land of Fire shortly.” Their third compatriot said. “I can only hope she’s alright.”

Above them, the stars twinkled ruefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slowly working on the next chapter and it's admittedly coming at a slower pace, but we'll be picking up the pace again next time!  
> Next time we'll have a change in pace with POVs also!
> 
> Stay tuned till then! Any guesses who the people at the end may be? Leave it down in the comments!


	10. Threaded With Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contrary to previous belief, people have the capacity of change. The teams get moving, while invisible red ties bring them all together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Experimenting with changing POV around a bit, hope it flows nice! Glad to be back!

With the meeting over, most of the Servants dispersed across Konoha, wanting to familiarize themselves here. Sasori learned one thing upon entering Konoha: it’s become industrialized. The technology advanced quickly; there are _trains_ here. From what they’ve learned, a lot has been accomplished in ten years since the war. Not that Sasori particularly cares about the looks of the villages, given how much of a recluse he was and continues to be. To him it just meant the world moved past people like him. 

Ambling throughout the streets, he found himself thinking about the mission at hand. There still were a lot of questions needed to be answered, like for example how badly did this world warp? The damage output? Had a Grail fallen into their world? What kind of foes would they face?

Whatever it’ll be, they’d start to unravel tomorrow. When he turns down the street, he returns back to Sakura’s home. As he approaches and knocks at the door, Sasori’s brow raises upon seeing Shiki at the door.

“Good, you’re back.” Shiki nods, stepping away from the entrance. “You can help me cook.”

“No thanks.” Sasori declines, already removing his sandals. “Did that kid let you in?”

“Yeah, though, she begged Chiyome to train with her, and Sakura-san isn’t not back yet.” Shiki replied over her shoulder, returning back to the kitchen. “So it’s just been me and the food. But you’re going to help, unless you want me to cut you up?”

Despite the nonchalance, Shiki appeared to be serious about that. Sighing, Sasori mutters a _fine_ and closes the front door, following her back inside.

“You should learn a tip or two from Emiya.” Shiki quipped while approaching the stove. “We’ll probably wrap up by the time they return.”

Sasori makes a face, because why would he bother to learn how to cook from Emiya? Nevertheless, he goes to wash his hands and begin to assist Shiki begrudgingly with the prep work.

* * *

Having found a home at the Uzumaki residence, Ritsuka has become charmed by them. It was easy, considering how friendly both the Hokage and his wife Hinata are. Their children are both colorful too; if Ritsuka could compare it to anything they’d be like the sun. They appeared akin to a model family she’d see on TV once, something almost like a dream. It warmed her alike all the times she slipped in and out of the lives from those she’s been touched throughout the Singularities and Lostbelts, but she knows it won’t last long and she’s trying not to feel attached.

After finishing dinner, Naruto takes Ritsuka and the others aside. Himawari was taken upstairs by Sitonai who promised to play with her while Tamamo assisted Hinata with the rest of cleaning up. Boruto assisted too, but shortly left after, disappearing back into his room. They’ve sat down at the sofa, with Ritsuka and Mashu talking with Naruto. The Hokage holds Ritsuka’s hands, folding his hands over them, fingers gently rubbing against the callouses over her hands and around her command seals.

“Alright. This won’t hurt, I promise.” Naruto reassures, as red chakra bubbles off his skin, shifting to cover Ritsuka in it.

Mashu gasped, watching it incase her in a bubble of sorts. Ritsuka only could gap like a fish when she stared into the Hokage’s eyes— they glimmered a crimson red. And then suddenly.....

Ritsuka falls limp into Naruto’s arms, with a light sigh from her lips.

“Senpai?” Mashu called, tone tinged with worry. “Is she….??”

“She’ll be fine.” Naruto replies with a smile. “I’m just sharing some of my strength with her, since she felt unbalanced as well.”

“Unbalanced?” Mashu asked, brow furrowed. “what do you mean?”

“Her body’s on overdrive right now, likely trying to adjust to the environment. I wanted to give her a boost.” Naruto explained. “And well, Kurama wanted to get a good look at her.”

“Oh, Kurama— the nine tails?” Mashu asked, looking between the two. “I see, we’ve heard about him before.”

By now, Tamamo has wrapped up with the rest of the dishes, striding forward. Hinata went upstairs to prepare the guest bedrooms, leaving them alone in the living room. Tamamo frowns while she approaches the group.

“You tell him not to be so rude too!” Tamamo chides, pointing at him, “If he hurts Master, I’ll be giving him not just a kick!”

“Eh, you can hear him, Tamamo?” Mashu glanced over in surprise, watching her chuckle.

“With a bit of Fox magic, I can!” Tamamo declared, now settling down on the couch. “It must be because of our connection that I can eavesdrop.”

Looking down to the sleeping Master, she appeared to lightly snore in response.

* * *

It’s strange within the inner depths of Uzumaki Naruto, but Ritsuka doesn’t hate it. The moment she enters it feels like she’s back in the Château d'If, only there aren’t any wailing vengeful sinners, only a gigantic fox and a pool of memories that rush through her from his own past and it makes her feel suddenly tired. The stories told by her friends come to mind, regarding how down to earth Uzumaki Naruto is. Konan’s brief discussions about him come to mind, about his willingness to branch into other perspectives, unafraid to question his own previous beliefs.

They were similar almost, taking the world’s overarching problems and facing them with an unfaltering resolve. But Ritsuka knows from experience to not put him up on a pedestal, she knows firsthand by doing so would be a disservice to his own struggles–– she can see it from the tension between him and Boruto from dinner. Like most, he’s a human with imperfections, just like herself. 

“You know, I wasn’t sure if I could believe Mashu-chan about your out of body experience exploits, but here you are.” A familiar voice chuckled behind her, prompting her to turn to see the Hokage himself.

The water ripples underneath her feet, while a gasp leaves her lips after glancing between them.

“I’m guessing you wanted to see my memories too?” Ritsuka asked, watching him balk in surprise. “I don’t blame you. I’m sure Yamanaka-san made it pretty vague and all.”

“Well that is part of it.” Naruto replied, closing the distance between them. “while in here it makes it easier. I heard from Konan you’re able to do some basic chakra exercises?”

“Ah yeah! I can!” Ritsuka replies, placing her hands together. “Where should I put it?”

“Directly downward.” Naruto instructs, gesturing to the floor. “as if you’re wanting to bring it to your feet to walk.”

With some concentration, Ritsuka pours her chakra into the watery pool below her. Unbeknownst to her, Kurama opens one eye and leers down at the watery surface as the girl’s memories begin to appear. She has no control over them, which prompts her to show the most emotionally charged ones: the beginning flames of Fuyuki, the confrontation in London, the solemn endings of Camelot and Babylonia and the final battle with Goetia.

There’s brief glimpses of the Remnants and all the confrontations from the previous Four Lostbelts. The bleaching of their world makes Naruto frown, their world had the potential for that too, if they didn’t end the Ultimate Tsukuyomi. 

“I wish I could alleviate the burden just a bit.” Naruto frowns as Ritsuka collapses into the watery surface from exhaustion. “You’ve been shouldering the burden all this time.”

“Well, technically not.” Ritsuka replies, now taking his outstretched hand, standing once again. “I still have...Mashu, Da Vinci, our Director..” she paused, frowning lightly. “Holmes and all of the other Servants–– so I’m not shouldering it entirely alone, we depend on one another.”

Naruto’s expression softens, now bringing a hand to ruffle her head. “And you have an ally with me too.”

The water shifts around them, as Kurama towers them, no longer trying to feign sleep. Naruto glances over at his partner, watching as he raises his paw. Ritsuka stares up at the fox, wide and starry eyed, so unruffled by the turn of events that it bothers Naruto just a bit.

Kurama’s claw hovers over, becoming a fist, yet it doesn't smash them within Naruto’s headspace much to Ritsuka’s confusion. Naruto dawns at a revelation and shoots him a shit eating grin, prompting the biju to huff and look away.

“You know, I’d think you'd have grown out of this Kurama.” Naruto teases lightly, looking back to Ritsuka. “Okay, Ritsuka-chan, bump fists with him.”

“Huh?” Ritsuka is dumbfounded, now raising her fist up to touch Kurama’s hand.

There’s a spark, a fire lit in her heart as chakra is shared to her. Ritsuka feels more alive than she’s ever been. When she looks at Kurama, he’s clearing his throat and rolling his eyes.

“It’s only because that vixen of yours wouldn’t shut up.” Kurama snorts, side-eying her now. “What happened to all her tails?”

“She cut them off.” Ritsuka said, now tapping her chin. “...although, she didn’t divulge the full story to me.”

Kurama appears baffled by that, most tailed beasts had much pride in the power brought with each tail. Naruto looks interested as well, but ignores it to more pressing matters.

“We ought to get you back.” Naruto said, “you have a long day tomorrow.”

Ritsuka nods, breathing in a lengthy sigh and allows her mind to wander. With a small push, Naruto helps guide her back to her body and she wakes up, with a legarthic stretch while resting on Mashu’s lap.

“Thank goodness!” Mashu breathes a sigh of relief. “You’ve returned, let’s get some real sleep now.”

“Awh right.” Ritsuka slurred, prompting Ritsuka to grab a hold of her waist causing Mashu to wheeze.

Naruto can't help but chuckle at the display. Tamamo’s ears perked up, turning back to Hokage.

“I’ll give you the story another day, fufu.” Tamamo says with a wink. “But we ought to get these two to bed~ they have a long day tomorrow”.”

“I concur. It might be a difficult mission.” Naruto said, which prompts Tamamo to laugh.

“These two can handle anything, no plant monster is going to squash them.” Tamamo replies, “They won’t let you down!”

Naruto smiles, fully in agreement, now helping Mashu lift Ritsuka up to bed at the guest rooms prepared. They meet Hinata at the base of the staircase, who wears a warm smile and gestures for them to follow. While being carried, Ritsuka finds herself drifting off to sleep. 

* * *

There are a few strange things happening when Sakura returns home from the hospital. Upon arriving back at her door, she’s met with the aroma of food that makes her mouth water and a familiar scowling face. 

“You’re late.” Sasori flatly commented, he almost looked offended. He abruptly turns away, returning back inside leaving Sakura at the door. 

Apparently in domestic living, Sasori wasn’t much of a conversationalist, which made her bite her inner lip. He never stopped being rude, it appeared. No matter what that girl– Ritsuka said, it was hard to believe he could easily turn a new leaf. She wasn’t sure if Ritsuka was a _Naruto_ in that regard, but she supposed the girl might’ve had the talent by commanding all of these Servants back in Chaldea. 

Upon stepping inside, Sakura spots a grinning Sarada at their dining room table next to Chiyome. Shiki brings the last of the food with the help of Sasori to the table and shoots her a look.

“Welcome back, Sakura-san.” Shiki waves, as Sakura stares wide eyed in amazement. “Just in time too; you hungry?”

“Oh, Ryougi-san, you didn’t have to…” Sakura trails off, as her eyes meet with Sasori’s briefly, it returns back to her. “Yeah, famished, thank you for cooking for us.”

“No problem, I roped this guy into helping.” Shiki points a finger toward Sasori who sits across from Chiyome. 

Shiki made some Katsudon and curry, calling to Sakura’s stomach, as she sat next to Sarada at the table, who she gave a peck atop her head.

“Welcome Home, Mom.” Sarada greeted enthusiastically, “before, Mochizuki-san helped me with some training…!”

“That so?” Sakura hummed, glancing toward the fellow kunoichi. “I’m glad to know.”

Chiyome didn’t look any older than sixteen, yet appeared to be battle hardened. The subtle markings etched into her skin reminded Sakura of the unpleasant memories concerning Sasuke and his former curse mark. She recalls the brief discussion about Heroic Spirits while everyone intermingled, most died previously, prompting her to glance at Shiki Ryougi while mid chew. 

It made Sakura wonder what kind of lives they led before becoming Heroic Spirits. Scooping some of the curry into her mouth, Sakura’s eyes widened at the flavors mixed in and smiled.

“This is delicious, it’s got a good mixture of sweet and spicy.” Sakura said, earning her a nod from Shiki. Her eyes narrowed to Sasori who was pushing around his food with an accusatory tone. “You didn’t poison anything, _did you_?”

“Still don’t trust me?” Sasori listlessly inquires, now leaning back in his chair. “You wound me, girl.”

“No need to worry ‘bout that.” Shiki dismisses, “I was monitoring him the entire time, besides he was more like my human knife than anything.”

Watching the man she killed eating at her dinner table really felt uncomfortable. He looked like a bonafide human too, which didn’t help Sakura at all. He also appeared mildly offended, now taking a bite of his own.

“Will you guys be around tomorrow too?” Sarada probed, prompting the Servants to look toward her. 

The Servants exchanged a glance, prompting Chiyome to speak. 

“Not all of us.” Chiyome replied, “Sasori-san and I will be going on a mission tomorrow. Ryougi-san will be here though.”

“Oh! I see!” Sarada looked enthused at least, much to Sakura’s relief. “Good luck tomorrow then.”

Sakura’s just lucky Sarada’s quick to catch on to how grim the situation is. The dinner conversation slowly turns back to the Servants, who share a little of their backstories. Sakura shouldn’t be surprised given what she’s endured previously, but she nearly blanches at Chiyome and Shiki’s stories. Sasori keeps his brief, only divulging about his birthplace and skills and it annoys Sakura, which wasn’t new. Sarada’s curiosity leads them down a rabbit hole of the allies who weren’t with them.

Sakura was fairly interested in Nightingale, who according to Shiki, terrorized Sasori. It earned the murderer a glare from the puppet user, which she ignored. But from the interactions between the three Servants, Sakura saw some differences now. Sasori felt more human compared to when he felt like a husk; there was a light in his eyes she hadn’t seen before.

As they gathered the dishes to wash, her guests insisted to clean up as she staggered back to bed. Chiyome helped guide her to bed, after a murmured _thanks_ , Sakura fell into her sheets. The conversations from the kitchen drifted farther away as she was pulled into sleep, satisfied by dinner and work related exhaustion.

* * *

The selected team leaders all regroup during the early morning. They were fairly early, so much so the Hokage hadn’t gotten there yet so they’ve been loitering around his office as Sasori strolled alongside Chiyome, packed to go. Upon arriving, Sasori spots a yawning Oryo and Ryouma, while Konan leaned up against the wall. Danzou and Kotaro appeared to be talking amongst themselves while Okita acknowledged their presence with a wave.

“Good morning, Sasori-san! Chiyome-san!” Okita greeted her with a smile.

This got the attention of some of the others, who turned to face them. 

“The others aren’t here yet?” Chiyome inquires, gait coming to a stop. 

“Aha, momentarily I hope.” Ryouma replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, how was last night?”

“Pleasant, Sakura-san and Sarada-chan were nice to be around.” Chiyome continued as Sasori pressed his back against the wall, exuding a sigh. “How was Hyuuga-san?”

“Very kind, she and her father were quite generous.” Ryouma replies with a grin. “Although her father was a little concerned after Konan-san shape-shifted back into normal though, his daughter was able to smooth things over.”

“It did put him on edge.” Konan adds in, “I wouldn’t blame him, after what happened— since he was present for that fight.”

Chiyome’s gaze meets with the others who joined them, their own conversations ceasing. “And what of you?”

“Inuzuka-san is rather energetic!” Okita replies with a nod, “his clansmen fight with ninken! He seemed pretty surprised that Kintoki-kun was able to speak to animals too, which led to Kintoki-kun getting familiar with their dogs.”

“Did you tell him about King Lobo?” Ryouma inquires, prompting a nod from Okita.

“Yes, Hozouin brought him up.” Okita replies, “he didn’t seem convinced at first, but honestly considering all they’ve seen before he came around.”

There’s a nod of agreement, shinobi likely have seen pretty strange things.

“Likewise, Abumare-san was also hospitable. I was rather intrigued by his insects, he appeared surprised I was a puppet.” Danzou goes next, “Nobunaga-dono kept pestering him to have a face off while he was grading papers from the Academy though.”

At that, Okita couldn’t help but groan at the mention. Konan’s brows raise in acknowledgement, recalling facing members of their clan in their attempted attack.

“Um, Yamanaka-san and her husband were fairly interesting.” Kotaro adds on, “We also met with their son, whose Boruto-san’s age and he seemed rather sceptical on why we were all there.”

“Did they tell him?” Chiyome asked, prompting Kotaro to shake his head.

“Yamanaka-san glossed over the details, but mentioned we knew one another from a mission in the past. Thank goodness we changed topics to weaponry, because Hokusai-san and Murasaki-san probed her husband about his ninja arts.” Kotaro explained, wiping at his forehead with relief.

“That’s probably for the best then.” Sasori comments, “the less others know of this operation, the better.”

“I wonder if it was the same with the others.” Ryouma ponders, “I’m sure the other shinobi gave a cover story to help us blend in a little more easily.”

“Hopefully specific people are using their disguises while out.” Danzou nods in agreement, vaguely hinting at their oni allies but stops to look behind them. “Ah— the rest have arrived.”

Behind them appeared Ritsuka, Mashu, the Hokage himself, along with a few Servants who would be accompanying them. A few familiar jounin were present as well, including Sai, Kiba, Shikamaru and a blond woman with a fan strapped her to back, who Sasori recognized raised a brow toward as they approached. The other Servants lingered behind them, made up of Nobunaga, Benkei, the Hokusai duo, Houzuin, Raikou, Musashi, Tamamo, Touta, Ushiwakamaru, Amakusa, Kintoki, Tomoe, Kojiro, Yagyu and Shuten Douji. 

The Hokage gave a lazy wave to their group leaders and unlocked his office door, allowing for everyone to enter via a single file line. Once he sat down, Shikamaru stood beside him, with his arms crossed.

“We’ve gathered you today to undergo an investigation in regard to the outbreak of Zetsu.” Shikamaru began, “we’ve outlined the details yesterday, but it’s a reconnaissance mission only; do not agitate the enemy. We don’t have a clear outline of what they’re setting out to do yet and want to prevent as much bloodshed as possible.”

The blond woman beside Shikamaru narrowed her eyes. “Despite them slaughtering those towns, wearing the villagers as human skin?”

“Yes, which is why we have those of Chaldea.” Shikamaru shirked underneath her gaze, coughed into his fist, and continued. “Their forces are reliable and powerful. Anyway, we’ve separated you all into two seperate forces: the reconnaissance team and backup in case things get hairy—- the former composed of Fuuma-san, Kato-san, Mochizuki-san, and Konan-san with their own four man squads. Sai and Kiba will be apart of them, and can accompany any while Temari will remain with the backup— composed of Sakamoto-san, Okita-san and Sasori.”

“Nighttime appears the most likely when they’ll attack, according to the report from yesterday.” Danzou states, “thus I must inquire if we shall infiltrate under the guise of passing merchants during the day?.”

“The more unassuming, the better, especially since they’ve never once encountered you in this world before.” Shikamaru replies with a nod, “feel free to pick your allies at your own discretion. If you can acquire inside intel too, that’ll be great.”

“Oh, which reminds me.” Ritsuka pipes up, now reaching to her pack. “we have something to give you all.”

Ritsuka unveils a summoning scroll, laying it atop the Hokage’s desk and quickly forming the seals necessary prompting several items to pop up onto the Hokage’s desk. The comms on her wrist then blink to life, allowing a hologram to surface, much to the surprise of the other shinobi.

“ _Buon giorno_ everyone!” Da Vinci greets jovially, she smiles brightly. “My apologies for taking so long to make my appearance!”

“I’m assuming you’re _also_ someone important?” Shikamaru inquires, watching her bob her head.

“Correct! Straight to the point, aren’t you?” Da Vinci giggles, “anyway, to introduce- my name is Leonardo Da Vinci, a genius beyond your understanding. That aside, I— with some help, have constructed drones that can observe great distances, gather intel and help you better communicate.” 

“A child?” Sai whispered, flabbergasted. He shares a look with Kiba, who is equally dumbfounded.

The Great Genius pauses, studying the new faces and looks off screen to pout toward someone then looks confidently back.

“That being said, in the summoning scroll Sasori—“ The shinobi shoots a bewildered look at him. “—helped me put together, I’ve included several comms like Ritsuka’s there, so we can all keep in contact simultaneously, since you all are in a rather precarious situation.”

“H....how do they work?” Shikamaru inquires.

“Easy.” Da Vinci grinned. “Much like applying mana, you simply apply some chakra to them and it’ll keep them going for awhile, the drones will be able to give you service and a connection while you’re out investigating, it’ll also help give us feedback on our end too so we can look out for them as well.”

Naruto shoots a look toward Shikamaru, who then looks back with a smile.

“For the comms too?” Naruto asks, watching her nod. “You’ve certainly come prepared.”

“I’ll worry about moving them on our end.” Da Vinci reassures, “That way we’ll all be simultaneously connected. As far as Sasori and Konan have told me, you all use a rather slow mailing system.”

“Then I’ll hold onto it.” Shikamaru offers, “We can discuss matters should anything come up.”

“Agreed.” Da Vinci smiles, now typing away at the keyboard, prompting a light to turn on one of the drones. “Just add some chakra into each of them and they should be good to go.”

Naruto, with the immense amount of chakra, poured some into each and the drones began to float above and fly around them. Da Vinci seemed focused as she configured them, with the lights turning from red to green in an instant. 

“Now, we’ll be in touch.” Da Vinci winked, “I’m sure Ritsuka and Mashu filled you in?”

“Yes, last night they had.” Naruto replied, “Thank you very much, Da Vinci-san.”

Turning to those in the room, each leader took one of the comms, including the Shinobi as well. A serious expression appears on Naruto’s face, as he puts his hands together.

“Be careful everyone.” Naruto warns. “good luck, you are dismissed.”

The groups took precaution and splintered off into their squads, putting time between each departure. Konan’s group, composed of Sai, Ushiwakamaru, and Amakusa, left first. The second to leave is Chiyome, accompanied by Touta, Hokusai and Mashu. The third with Kotaro, Benkei, Kiba, and Ritsuka. The fourth was composed of Danzou, Houzuin, Raikou. Behind them was Sasori’s group, composed of Temari, Nobunaga and Tamamo. Ryouma’s group has Musashi, Shuten Douji, and Tomoe, while Okita’s group was composed of Kintoki, Kojiro and Yagyu.

The sun barely begins to rise when Sasori’s group departs quickly, the comms hum in his ears, while Da Vinci and Sion now help divulge information regarding the coordinates. He definitely feels Temari’s glare boring into his skull as they exit Konoha. 

“Y’know, if _eyes_ could kill….” Nobunaga begins. “you’d already be dead, Sasori.” 

Sasori doesn’t dignify Nobunaga with a response as they jump through the trees, while Tamamo shakes her head at the Archer. 

“You forget Karna-san already can do that.” Tamamo nonchalantly adds, prompting Temari to shoot her an incredulous look. She glances over to the fan user, brow raising, “ Bad blood I’m assuming between you two?”

“More than that, I didn’t think I’d ever _see_ you again.” Temari frowns, “When Shikamaru brought your _colleague_ home, I was baffled––” Sasori spares her a glance then. “...and the fact I have to keep this a secret from my brothers is killing me, they’re supposed to be coming in a few weeks..” 

“Oh? What for?” Nobunaga probs, “ Vacation or something?”

“No, for the Chunin Exams, they’re coming to oversee it. My youngest brother Gaara is the Kazekage, while my middle brother Kankarou is one of his advisors.” Temari shakes her head. “What a time for all this to crop up, I was supposed to train my son and his team.”

“A name I haven’t heard in awhile.” Sasori mutters vaguely. That was before his time, he hadn’t taken them, only promoting by his own individual merits. “Konoha is holding them this year?”

“Well, supposed to anyway–– I don’t know why you care.” Temari spat. “Back to the mission, we’re supposed to remain outside the perimeter anyway, while the main team goes inside during the day?”

“It may arouse suspicion if too many of us enter, I thought that’d be obvious..” Sasori replies, “ Along with Okita and Ryouma’s teams, we’ll be staying outside while the main teams will enter at different times to throw them off.”

“Hopefully they won’t mess that up.” Temari huffs, frowning. 

“Well they got your men with them anyway, we're simultaneously able to monitor the situation, and it’s not like we haven’t gone on reconnaissance missions before.” Nobunaga replies with a shrug while she floats above through the trees. “ They’re keeping their Servant signatures down, so they won’t draw any unnecessary attention unless they purposely clown themselves.”

“Ah...you’re right about that.” Tamamo replies, “It’s doubtful the enemy will attack during the day, if they’re keeping up the illusion of a peaceful village.”

“We’ll just have to remain vigilant.” Sasori shrugs, “and cross that bridge if we have to.” 

“I’m surprised you’re so laid back,” Temari narrows her eyes toward him. 

“You’d be surprised by alotta things about this guy.” Nobunaga laughs at her jab, which Sasori doesn’t respond to either. “He’s still a stick in the mud though.”

“Well he’s definitely eased up since coming to Chaldea.” Tamamo giggles, “Well, or maybe he was forced into it…?”

“That seems doubtful.” Temari replies with a frown, “I heard he was stuck in his ways.”

“Well Chaldeans are a force to be reckoned with!” Nobunaga replies with a grin, “Even an old man can change.”

“He isn’t as bad as Gilgamesh or Dantes in that regard.” Tamamo replies, then huffs out a laugh “Even though those two act _so_ old.”

Temari makes a face, uncertain of what to make of it, but allows for the conversation to change gears as they continue their journey.

* * *

“How are you fairing Senpai?” Mashu inquires over the comms, watching Ritsuka’s visage flicker into view. The Master appears a little sheepish, “Seems we’ve made progress on our end.”

It’s about half a day since their departure, they’ve made decent progress with no hiccups. Traversing through the trees feels oddly nostalgic to Mashu, reminding her of the times in their fledgling beginnings. 

“Pretty good on our end too!” Ritsuka grins back toward Mashu, “ being here kinda reminds me of Shimousa–– but not?”

“Really? How so?” Mashu asks, watching Chiyome and Touta discussing something, observing the forest. 

“Must be the nostalgic, Japanese like scenery, though, I’m hoping we aren’t forced into a similar Swordsman Dual–– those were _painful_.” Ritsuka emphasizes the end, 

Mashu recalls looking over the reports about the Shimosa incident, how Ritsuka engaged in duels against the enemy with Musashi and the Servants she was able to partially summon–– they were almost like Shadow Servants, based on memories and bonds ingrained into her. It was different this time, due to Sasori’s quick thinking to not have a similar incident. 

“ Regardless of what’ll happen, we’ll power through it senpai!” Mashu reassures and Ritsuka matches her smile. “We’ll meet you over there.” 

By the time Mashu ends their call, Chiyome is already waving Mashu over to keep moving and she nods, ready to get on the move again. 

* * *

Twilight is already beginning to filter through the sky, on the verge of night, when the first group arrives at the coordinates of the village. It would be too risky to enter, so they set up camp several miles aways from it.

The holographic image of Da Vinci flickers before Konan’s face, who takes it in impassively. Amakusa unrolls a scroll with some rations while Sai is double checking them. Ushiwakamaru jumps down from one of the trees, joining them at their makeshift camp 

“We’ve reached our assigned location,” Konan reports in, gaze flickering to the sky to watch one of the drones they deployed camouflaging itself among the foliage. “What of the others?”

“Slowly making their way,” Da Vinci replies, as she assesses the screen. “Chiyome’s group just arrived, while Kotaro’s group is within range–– we haven’t heard from Ryouma or Sasori’s groups yet, Okita’s group appeared to be stalled by something but hasn’t reported in.”

“Can you get an audio transmission?” Konan remains calm, despite her lingering worries. The rest of her crew turns to face her expectantly. 

Static buzzes into their ears, the first sound to register is the clanging of metal–– sounds of engaged conflict which worries Konan. 

“Okita! Do you copy?” Da Vinci inquired, but the sound of a fight continued on. “Okita!”

The sounds of battle slowly came to a close, where sounds of panting could be heard.

“––Ah, hah….hah….phew…” Okita sighed into the device, the video flickers on. The fuzzy video footage now streamlined focusing onto the swordswoman. “....Sorry about that Da Vinci, we got caught up by some thugs?”

“Some thugs? Mind explaining what happened?” Da Vinci inquires tersely, and in moments does Okita’s sweaty face blink into the holographic video monitor. 

“Well…” Okita begins, then glances behind her, now showing a destroyed pathway, sickly pale white bodies could be seen underneath the rubble. “Seems like those creeps have been passing themselves as merchants, offering wares–– good think Kintoki-san gave ‘em a great shock!”

A ‘ _It was pretty golden’_ can be heard in the background, followed by the Berserker’s boisterous laughter. 

“We’re running pretty behind because of the fight, there was a whole caravan of them.” Okita continues on, now sheathing her katana. 

“What were they doing, exactly?” Konan inquires, watching Okita gaze flit between the rubble and the screen. “Have they gotten smarter?”

“Decently smart, I’d say.” Kojiro joins Okita on screen, “it seems they killed the people traveling between villages, wearing their skin– we offered to accompany them for a bit in case of bandits prior to our knowledge, but Yagyu-san noticed something wasn’t quite right.”

“That occurred during the war too.” Sai jumps into the conversation now, “Although I don’t recall them being smart– they were rather primitive, barring the Black Zetsu and the one who combined with him. How could they be multiplying so rapidly?”

“I don’t know..” Konan admits, now glancing toward Ushiwakamaru. “Ushiwakamaru-san, report?”

“Right, right, when I went to get a glimpse of the village previously discussed, it was lit up like any old village.” Ushiwakamaru replies, prompting her brows to furrow. “ It appears oddly regular, despite the ghost towns we passed–– has any of the other groups reported in on those? Our group didn’t stay long at them.”

“I believe Ryouma-san said he’d be doing that with his group.” Konan supplies, “Da Vinci-san?”

“On it!” Da Vinci smiles, she goes to vigorously type at the keyboard. Another screen with a name underneath blinks to life, showing a bewildered Ryoma on the other side. “Hey Sakamoto, find anything?”

“Hm, oh, Da Vinci!” Ryoma appears surprised, but slips back into his relaxing demeanor. “Sorry, I was a little preoccupied by something.” 

“Oh, care to share with the class?” Da Vinci teased, but still with an air of professionalism.

“Mmhm, so my group has taken some time to investigate the previous two locations–– sorry for the hold up, by the way.” Ryoma apologizes sheepishly, but continues. “Whoever cleared both of them strangely didn’t leave any blood–– especially if the Zetsu are supposed to drink the blood of those they shapeshift into.”

“Oh?” Da Vinci’s gaze meets with Sai, then nods, beckoning him to go on.

“We couldn’t find any evidence of a disturbance, everything has been left untouched. It’s kind of disturbing. I’d say this for both villages, by the way.” Ryoma concludes, “I’m curious about the third one though.”

“It could be possible a Grail’s involved somehow.” Amakusa adds in, “supplying magical energy to change the outcome due to a wish–– anything could happen once you’re in the possession of one.” 

“I’m wondering what changes have occurred too, but we’ll keep you posted. We should be heading to our designated spot in the next couple hours or so.” Ryoma reports in, then waves as his video screen goes offline.

“Once everyone is together, we’ll hold another conference call.” Da Vinci states, watching the group nod toward her, and her line blips out. 

Turning back to her group, Konan forms the necessary hand signs, and a paper clone appears besides her. 

“It appears the village we’ll be investigating may be heavily guarded.” Konan says, her clone now folding into itself, becoming nothing but a tiny bird. “I’ll scout closer to the perimeter.”

There’s a collective agreement as the paper bird flutters its wings and flies off closer to the lively, bustling town. 

* * *

“Hold on.” Oryo’s face hardens, brows furrowing as their group is about to leave the abandoned hotel. “Oryo-san smells something funny.”

“Hm, what’s up, Oryo-san?” Ryouma inquires, watching his partner glide back to the back room behind the counter space. 

The oni and Musashi exchange a glance, as they jump over the counter to explore the backroom and watch Oryo rummaging underneath the tatami mat in the back. Underneath unveiled a secret passage, the mouth of a cavern now opened before them. The dragon slithers in first, followed by Ryoma, while Tomoe waves off and accompanies the duo while the others await orders to stay put for now. 

A pit of darkness almost consumes them, and Ryoma and Tomoe hit the floor and welcome a terse silence. Tomoe lights her hand with fire, and to their horror lay a pile of Zetsu torn asunder.

“This is right out of a horror movie.” Tomoe frowns, now extending the light upward, the shadows in the cavern make things feel more terrifying. Remnants of something red bubbled all around the debris. “It appears we’ve found a nest, but who could’ve done this?”

“It looks like fire–– but it isn’t black, nor smells like it, so we can assume it’s not Uchiha-san, Hokage-sama informed us of him prior to us leaving. “ Ryoma says, eyes searching through the dark. “ Can you light that way?”

The cavern was a lot smaller than they anticipated, Tomoe continued to illuminate their way as they went to inspect the decaying Zetsu, limbs torn asunder and barely recognizable. 

The light shone against another tight corridor, prompting the duo to run toward it and the echoing of trading blows made them run faster. 

“You think Oryo-san found something?” Tomoe whispered to Ryouma, as they made a break through the low ceiling corridor.

“Probably, her nose is pretty reliable.” Ryouma replies with a laugh, as they emerge only to find something surprising. “Woah.”

Before they can properly react, the odd light illuminating inside already puts them on the defensive with the gigantic plant monster hovering over them. 

“I feel a Servant signature nearby, be careful.” Tomoe cautions Ryouma, now ducking at the vines that attempted to slice them apart. “Let’s hurry!” 

“Right!” Ryouma called, now pulling for his own sword, rushing forward, then twisting his body to avoid someone hurling themselves at him. “Woah!”

“More enemies huh?” A new voice huffed, prompting their confusion, and they could feel power surge. “Didn’t think they’d have a way to call more reinforcements!” 

There’s a blur of red when Ryoma haphazardly avoids Tomoe’s blazing arrows and the shadow is able to evade it with ease. The fire strikes the gigantic flower monster, causing it to roar out in pain. 

Ryouma still can’t find Oryo in the midst of the fighting, he’s avoiding the swipe of attacks from their current enemy and he can’t say he has much experience with hand to hand combat to keep up. Before the stranger can land a hit on him, Ryouma’s suddenly in the air in Oryo’s strong arms, she pouts down at him.

“You were too slow, Ryouma.” Oryo chides him, “Oryo-san could’ve handled it.”

“Yeah, ‘m fine.” Ryoma dismisses with a laugh, then frowns. “What are we up against?”

“The giant monster’s been rapidly summoning the Zetsu, not sure about the other person though.” Oryo replies, adjusting her grip on the fabric of his coat. The battlefield filled with the odd magical energy that burned through the enemies.

A battle cry drew their attention, watching as Tomoe engaged in close combat with them. 

“Hm. Then there might be a chance.” Ryoma murmured, “...We need to take down that tree first.”

“Roger, wanna unleash it? It seems pretty worn down.” Oryo asks, gaze askance at the large tree monster rampaging. 

“I’ve been storing chakra since the beginning, so we should be good on energy–– let’s go.” Ryoma nods, now feeling the energy to gather in his core and Oryo’s already put them at a safe distance away from Tomoe’s fight and the tree monster. “....Orochi of the earth, sealed by Amasakahoko... I alone know the truth of my deeds. Amakakeru Ryu ga Gotoku!”

Shadows gathered behind him as Oryo formed into her full height, Ryoma jumped atop her head and they charged into the enemy with a battle cry. With a snap of her mighty jaws, Oryo bit through it, causing it to squeal, her fangs burying themselves further into the wood and it continued to splinter apart. With one final yelp, the animated tree monster let out a deafening cry as it collapsed, disappearing away. 

As the dust settled, the enemy defeated– Tomoe stood against the stranger who fought in the dark, her flames revealing the appearance of the stranger with bright red hair. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a bit of burn out, but I managed to finish this mid-August! \o/ I wanted to have some time away from it to look at it again and to post. I've also started on Chapter 11 too, so can't wait to keep going! :] I've also been fixing minor grammar stuff/errors from previous chapters too haha. And... I've been looking for work and went away for awhile which also let me get a fresher mind to know where I'll be going with this for future updates. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and sticking with me!

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes you just: push two interests together and because you don't care. my other reasoning for this is because some of the seiyuu in nart also share characters in the fate series and thought why not? LOL.


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